Ford Motor Company CEO Jim Farley presented Pope Leo XIV with a custom 2026 Ford Explorer Platinum hybrid on February 28. The vehicle was assembled at Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant, a location near where Pope Leo XIV grew up, serving as a tribute to his hometown. Custom features, or "Easter eggs," include vanity plates reading "DA POPE" and "LEO XIV," Chicago flag seat tags, and the city skyline stitched into the center console. The new Explorer features a 3.3L V6 hybrid powertrain, European broadcast radio compatibility, and engravings representing Chicago and St. Peter’s Basilica. Ford has a history of creating papal vehicles, starting with a custom Ford Bronco made for St. John Paul II's 1979 U.S. visit.
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Ford CEO Jim Farley and his wife Lia presented Pope Leo XIV with a custom 2026 Ford Explorer Platinum hybrid SUV during a private Vatican audience on February 28, 2026.1 2
The vehicle, assembled at Ford's Chicago Assembly Plant, is intended for the Pope's use on Vatican grounds.1 2
The SUV features a 3.3L V6 hybrid powertrain with a 10-speed hybrid transmission for sustainability and low emissions.1 2
It includes an antenna compatible with European radio, vanity plates "DA POPE" and "LEO XIV", Chicago flag seat tags, skyline stitching on the center console, and engravings of the Chicago skyline and St. Peter’s Basilica on scuff plates.1 2
The Chicago Assembly Plant, operational for over a century on the city's South Side, is about 5 miles from Pope Leo XIV's childhood home in Dolton suburb.1 2
This gift symbolizes pride from the Pope's hometown, with Ford employees highlighting the shared heritage during delivery.1
Dozens of Ford workers, including Lead Electrical Systems Engineer Jennifer Barilovich from a large Catholic family, contributed to the top-secret project and expressed immense pride.1 2
One employee is a former student of the Pope from his teaching days at St. Rita’s; the team sent handwritten letters, a plant photo, a recognition coin, and an Aurelio’s Pizza box, receiving blessed rosaries in return.1 2
Farley noted the Pope appreciated the personal touches and enjoyed a quick drive, confirming his liking for a sporty ride.1 2
The exchange emphasized gratitude, joy, and Chicago pride, with the Pontiff blessing items for the staff.1 2
Ford has a legacy of papal vehicles, including the first "popemobile"—a custom Bronco for St. John Paul II's 1979 U.S. visit, a term popularized by the Chicago Sun-Times.2
This Explorer continues that tradition with modern hybrid technology.2
Does the Church’s tradition of custom papal vehicles reflect its engagement with modern technology?
The Catholic Church maintains a long-standing tradition of customized transport for the Pope, evolving from ancient portable thrones like the sedia gestatoria to modern vehicles such as automobiles, which reflects a prudent and positive engagement with technological progress. This adaptation honors the papal office's dignity and visibility while aligning with Church teachings that view technology—including transportation—as a God-given tool for human flourishing, provided it serves the common good and does not supplant spiritual realities.
The Church's use of specialized papal vehicles predates modern technology, rooted in liturgical processions that symbolized the Pope's role as successor of Peter. The sedia gestatoria, a silk-covered armchair mounted on poles and carried by twelve footmen (palafrenieri), was employed for solemn occasions like papal coronations and entries into St. Peter's Basilica. This portable throne, adorned richly and flanked by feather fans (flabella), echoed ancient Roman customs (e.g., the sedia curulis for consuls) and early Christian practices, such as the wooden cathedra of St. Peter preserved in Rome.
Earlier traditions involved the Pope riding horseback from the Lateran Palace to stational basilicas, accompanied by dignitaries and wearing imperial-style garments like the cappa magna. Deacons provided ritual support (sustentatio), and the Pope donned insignia such as the pallium (a woolen band symbolizing authority), underscoring a ceremonial adaptation of Byzantine and Roman court practices to ecclesiastical needs. These customs were not mere pomp but served practical and symbolic purposes: elevating the Pope for visibility, ensuring safe procession, and manifesting hierarchical dignity in worship.
In the 20th century, the Church seamlessly integrated automobiles into this tradition, commissioning custom-modified vehicles (e.g., open-top cars or "popemobiles") for security, crowd visibility, and mobility. This shift mirrors broader papal endorsement of transportation technology. Pope John Paul II explicitly praised cars as "wonders of transportation technology" (Wunderwerken der Verkehrstechnik), crediting them for enabling his global apostolic journeys: "even the Pope owes to such wonders... the possibility of many important encounters near and far." He received gifts of vehicles from manufacturers like Adam-Opel and addressed the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, urging ethical globalization in the industry to protect the environment, human dignity, and workers' creativity.
This adoption reflects continuity: just as the sedia gestatoria was customized for function, modern papal vehicles are adapted (e.g., reinforced for protection post-1981 assassination attempt, though not detailed in sources) to fulfill the same roles amid faster travel demands. The Church's ready use of cars for pastoral outreach demonstrates technology as an extension of the Genesis mandate to "till and keep" the earth (Gen. 1:28; cf. Laborem exercens 4-10).
Church teaching consistently affirms technology's value while cautioning against its risks, framing papal vehicles as exemplary. Popes from Benedict XVI (Caritas in veritate 69) to Francis (Laudato si’ 102) hail advances in transport, medicine, and communication as "wonderful products of a God-given human creativity," remedying human limitations and participating in divine creation. Yet technology is "never merely technology"—it shapes culture, ontology, and self-understanding, demanding integration into covenantal relations with God and others.
Scholars echo this: technology expresses humanity's "inner tension" to overcome material limits but risks a "technological paradigm" of domination if not oriented to the true good. Papal vehicles embody balanced engagement—using tech's efficiency without idolizing it, as seen in John Paul II's ethical appeals to automakers. Unlike reactionary rejection, the Church marvels at progress while subordinating it to adoration (homo adorans over homo faber alone).
| Aspect | Historical (Sedia Gestatoria/Horse) | Modern (Automobiles/Popemobiles) | Theological Continuity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customization | Poles, rings, footmen; ivory-inlaid chair | Modified for security/visibility | Serves dignity and function |
| Purpose | Processions, coronations, visibility | Global travel, encounters | Apostolic mission |
| Tech Engagement | Manual/human-powered | Engineered transport | Dominion as gift (Laudato si’ 102) |
No sources indicate outright opposition; instead, they highlight technology's non-neutrality, urging discernment. Recent popes like Leo XIV continue this, addressing AI and medicine with similar caution for human dignity. The tradition thus reflects adaptive fidelity: custom vehicles evolve with tech, prioritizing evangelization over novelty.
In summary, yes—the Church's tradition of custom papal vehicles unequivocally reflects engagement with modern technology, blending historical symbolism with innovative tools to advance its mission, always under the primacy of faith and human dignity.