Power to the Papal: Fiat provides Vatican with specially-equipped Ducato van
 

<p>Filed under: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/minivans/" rel="tag">Minivans/MPVs</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/government-legal/" rel="tag">Government/Legal</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/fiat/" rel="tag">FIAT</a>, <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/category/celebrities/" rel="tag">Celebrities</a></p><div align="center"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/the-popes-disaster-relief-fiat-ducato-panorama/1533013/"><img vspace="4" hspace="4" border="1" alt="" src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/05/popeducato-580web.jpg" /></a><small style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"> Pope Benedict XVI's Fiat Ducato Panorama - Click above for high-res image gallery</small><br style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;" /></div>
<br />The Pope may be the Pope but he still needs to get around, which is why there have been so many additions to the Vatican motor pool for us to report on. His predecessor John Paul II may have received a <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2005/12/08/ferrari-donates-proceeds-of-400th-enzo-to-pope/">Ferrari Enzo</a>, but after <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2005/05/06/popes-golf-sells-for-243-000/">selling his Volkswagen Golf</a>, Benedict XVI has added a <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2006/06/29/volvo-hands-xc90-keys-over-to-his-holiness/">Volvo XC90</a>, a <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2005/10/07/bmw-donates-an-x5-to-the-pope/">BMW X5</a>, a <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2006/10/19/papal-power-vw-presents-pope-benedict-with-450hp-phaeton/">Volkswagen Phaeton W12</a>, and a custom <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2007/12/05/the-pope-gets-a-new-mercedes-g500-popemobile/">Mercedes G-Class</a> to his serene stable. And now he can add one more, as Fiat has provided the Holy Father with a specially-equipped Ducato Panorama van for his tour of the earthquake-stricken region of Abruzzo in Italy, which also happens to be where the Ducato is made in a joint venture with PSA-Peugeot-Citroen. <br /><br />The van is painted plain white with the livery of the Italian Civil Defence administration, which is managing the disaster relief, while inside the papal transport has been fitted with white leather sofas for His Holiness and his entourage. The Pope will be riding around Abruzzo to tour the tent camps housing the refugees, a local bassilica damaged by the disaster, and the coordinating headquarters for the relief efforts. Follow the jump for more detials in Fiat's press release, and click on the thumbnails below to view the holy roller in high resolution.<br /><br /><br /><div class="postgallery"><p><s trong>Gallery: <a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/the-popes-disaster-relief-fiat-ducato-panorama/">The Pope's Disaster Relief Fiat Ducato Panorama</a></strong></p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/the-popes-disaster-relief-fiat-ducato-panorama/1533015/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/05/090428_fga_santopadre3_th umbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/the-popes-disaster-relief-fiat-ducato-panorama/1533014/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/05/090428_fga_santopadre2_th umbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/photos/the-popes-disaster-relief-fiat-ducato-panorama/1533013/"><img src="http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/05/090428_fga_santopadre1_th umbnail.jpg" alt="" title="" /></a></div><br />[Source: Fiat]<p><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2009/05/05/power-to-the-papal-fiat-provides-vatican-with-specially-equippe/" rel="bookmark">Continue reading <em>Power to the Papal: Fiat provides Vatican with specially-equipped Ducato van</em></a></p><p style="padding:5px;backgr ound:#ddd;border:1px solid #ccc;clear:both;"><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2009/05/05/power-to-the-papal-fiat-provides-vatican-with-specially-equippe/">Power to the Papal: Fiat provides Vatican with specially-equipped Ducato van</a> originally appeared on <a href="http://www.autoblog.com">Autoblo g</a> on Tue, 05 May 2009 08:01:00 EST. Please see our <a href="http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/">terms for use of feeds</a>.</p><h6 style="clear: both; padding: 8px 0 0 0; height: 2px; font-size: 1px; border: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"></h6><a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2009/05/05/power-to-the-papal-fiat-provides-vatican-with-specially-equippe/" rel="bookmark" title="Permanent link to this entry">Permalink</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/forward/1535609/" title="Send this entry to a friend via email">Email this</a>&nbsp;|&nbsp;<a href="http://www.autoblog.com/2009/05/05/power-to-the-papal-fiat-provides-vatican-with-specially-equippe/#comments" title="View reader comments on this entry">Comments</a>

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