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Holy Popemobile: Pope Francis’s Final Journey in a Ram 1500

A modified white Ram 1500 carried Pope Francis’s coffin in his April 26, 2025 funeral procession. The truck’s U.S. manufacturing origin has not been established.
Entry762 Date Time3 min MechanicCarCody Team
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Pope Francis’s coffin traveled in a modified white Ram 1500 during his funeral procession on April 26, 2025. That was his final public journey—not a documented last ride in the truck while he was alive. Automotive reporting identified the pickup as a Ram 1500, but did not establish where that particular truck was built.

What car carried Pope Francis’s coffin?

A white, superseded single-cab Ram 1500 carried Francis’s simple wooden coffin from St. Peter’s Square to St. Mary Major Basilica. The pickup had been modified with a platform for the coffin; that platform was a funeral-conversion feature, not standard Ram 1500 equipment. CarExpert’s April 29, 2025 report identifies the truck and describes its earlier use.

The Ram marque is American, but the available reporting does not verify that this individual truck was manufactured in the United States. CarExpert says its production origin is unclear, including whether this example was made in Mexico. Calling it an “All-American” truck is therefore safe only as a reference to the brand, not a confirmed claim about the vehicle’s place of manufacture.

What was Pope Francis’s last ride?

The phrase “last ride” refers here to the funeral procession after Francis’s death, not a final trip he took while alive. The sources documenting the procession do not establish what vehicle he used for his last journey before his death.

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The procession traveled about 6 kilometers (3.5 miles) from St. Peter’s Square to St. Mary Major Basilica. The Associated Press reported Vatican estimates of approximately 250,000 people at the funeral Mass and another 150,000 along the motorcade route. Those are Vatican estimates reported by AP, not an independent AP headcount.

How the Ram had been used before the funeral

CarExpert reports that the pickup had been used during Francis’s 2016 trip to Mexico and later for internal Vatican transport and hauling. Its coffin-platform role in the funeral procession was distinct from ordinary papal travel: a vehicle used to carry a coffin is not necessarily configured like one used to carry a pope among crowds.

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Why there is no single “Popemobile”

“Popemobile” is an informal, broad label for vehicles a pope uses, rather than the name of one permanent model or standardized specification. The vehicle can change with the occasion, location, and practical needs. For Francis’s 2015 visit to the United States, the Holy See Press Office said he would use a retrofitted Jeep Wrangler; The Washington Post likewise described the term as referring informally to the vehicle a pope happens to travel in.

Papal vehicles balance two needs that can pull in different directions: allowing people to see the pope and protecting him. An open or low-sided vehicle can improve visibility, while an enclosed design can limit it. Equipment varies by vehicle and occasion; not every popemobile has the same protective features.

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From open visibility to greater protection

The Vatican Museums’ account of papal vehicles traces the visible white off-road vehicle to the period after the 1976 Jubilee. Paul VI used one sporadically, John Paul I did not, and John Paul II favored the form. In the museum’s sequence, the first example is a Toyota Land Cruiser, followed by a Fiat Campagnola.

On May 13, 1981, John Paul II was shot while riding in a Fiat 1107 Nuova Campagnola in St. Peter’s Square. The Vatican Museums’ collection entry records that Fiat had given him the vehicle in 1980. The USCCB says bullet-resistant glass was added after the attack. Other features, such as handrails and steps, support access and visibility. This history helps explain the continuing trade-off between being seen and being protected, but it does not mean every papal vehicle is armored in the same way.

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A utilitarian pickup in a solemn procession

The Ram’s significance was its specific role in Francis’s funeral: a modified pickup carried his coffin through Rome to the basilica where he was to be buried. Its use fits the varied history of papal transport better than the idea of a single, uniform Popemobile. The vehicle’s brand is identified; the manufacturing origin of this particular truck is not.

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