It’s a rather special jackpot for a raffle: the car used by Pope Francis during his visit to Panama in 2019, the Panamanian Catholic Church announced on Thursday. The Panamanian Church hopes to sell 100,000 lottery tickets at 10 dollars each, hoping to raise a million dollars for this “great solidarity raffle” whose draw is scheduled for August 20.
The blue Toyota Prius with 14,000 km on the odometer had been assigned to Pope Francis’ trips during World Youth Day (WYD) from January 23 to 27, 2019 in Panama. The closing mass had gathered more than 700,000 faithful, according to the Church.
A “special” car
The raffle is organized to compensate for the drop in Church income due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Archbishop of Panama City, Msgr. José Domingo Ulloa, said Thursday at a press conference.
“It’s really a very special car: it’s the one in which the pope went” when he was not aboard his white “Popemobile”, underlined the Panamanian prelate. “It’s a car for everyone, including non-believers because it has historical value,” he said.