Miscellaneous - Information about Pope Benedict's papa mobile.

NNA - 22/08/2012 - Papa mobile is an informal name for the specially designed motor vehicles used by the pope during outdoor public appearances without having to employ the antiquated and often impractical sedia gestatoria. The papa mobile was designed to allow the pope to be more visible when greeting large crowds. There have been many different designs for papa mobiles since Pope John Paul II first used a modified truck to greet crowds on his first trip to Poland as pope.

Some papa mobiles are open air, while others have bulletproof glass to enclose the pope. (These were deemed necessary after the Ali Agca assassination attempt.) Some allow the pope to sit, while others are designed to accommodate the pope standing. The variety of papa mobiles allows the Vatican to select a papa mobile appropriate for each usage depending upon the level of security needed, distance and speed of travel. The vehicle registration plate of the papa mobile reads "SCV 1". "SCV" abbreviates both "Stato della CittA' del Vaticano" and "Status Civitatis Vaticanae", the Italian and Latin names for the Vatican City State. The vehicle is only ever driven by an experienced and trusted member of the state where the pope is visiting.

NNA 2012 LEBANON

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Publication:	National News Agency Lebanon (NNA)
Date:	Aug 22, 2012
Words:	215
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