A curious episode resurfaces ahead of the Pope’s upcoming visit to Spain
Pope Ratzinger’s visit to Spain
The upcoming apostolic journey of Pope Leo XIV to Spain this June has brought to light a curious episode dating back 15 years. The story involves Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso and the then Pontiff, Pope Benedict XVI.
The revelation came from Yago de la Cierva, who coordinated Pope Ratzinger’s 2011 visit to Spain. The Holy Father travelled to the Iberian nation from August 18 to 21 of that year on the occasion of World Youth Day, which was held in Madrid.
The wild idea: Fernando Alonso driving the Popemobile
“In 2011, we explicitly requested that Fernando Alonso could drive the Popemobile,” de la Cierva told ‘La Radio Canaria’. The bold and unconventional idea was immediately rejected by the Vatican, which responded very firmly: “They were outraged. They told us: ‘Absolutely not!’.”
The decision was justified on safety grounds: “I defended the idea by explaining that Alonso knew how to drive and that the Pope would not be in danger with him. But they replied that it had to be driven by an officer of the national police.”
At the time, in 2011, Fernando Alonso was a Ferrari driver, while Pope Benedict XVI used a Mercedes-Benz G-Class 230G as his Popemobile.
The proposal has now resurfaced ahead of Pope Leo XIV’s visit in June: “Yago de la Cierva has confirmed that the idea of Alonso driving the Popemobile has been proposed again for the Pope’s upcoming visit to Spain,” reported Marca. Will there be an exception this time to the strict security protocols surrounding the Holy Father?
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