Pope Francis has urged priests and nuns to avoid flashy cars and opt for vehicles that are “humble”.
The famously frugal pontiff made his comments during Mass on Saturday in Vatican City.
“It hurts me when I see a priest or a nun with the latest model car, you can’t do this,” he said in a speech reported by Reuters.
Pope Francis has urged priests and nuns to avoid flashy cars and opt for 'humble' vehicles
“A car is necessary to do a lot of work, but please, choose a more humble one. If you like the fancy one, just think about how many children are dying of hunger in the world.”
As if to emphasise his point, it was announced he will be using a borrowed Fiat as a popemobile for his first papal visit to the Italian island of Lampedusa on Monday.
“The pope said he wanted nothing wasted on this trip,” a spokesman for the local mayor told The Telegraph.
The Pope waves from a borrowed Fiat in Lampedusa on Monday
“Since everyone knows everyone here, the town hall contacted a man who owns a villa and asked to borrow his car, which is over 20 years old.”
Pope Francis will drop a wreath into the waters where thousands of migrants have drowned in recent years as they attempted to reach Europe from Africa.
In June the Pope denounced what he called “ a culture of waste” and likened throwing away good food to “stealing from the table of the poor and hungry.”