We automotive enthusiasts didn’t imagine a pope could be any cooler than the late Pope Francis bombing around Vatican City in his stick-shift 1984 Renault 4L. Then the Jesus Bikers gave Pope Leo XIV a BMW R 18, and he is apparently smitten. But, being His Holiness and all, he gave away his bike for a charity auction without hesitation.

The cars of His Holiness, the Pope

We most often associate His Holiness with the popemobile. This is a parade vehicle, usually a truck or SUV, painted white and modified so the pope can stand up in back. The Catholic Church maintains one in every country the pope visits frequently. Local automakers usually donate them.

In South Korea, there’s a Kia Soul. In Washington, D.C., it’s a Jeep Wrangler. The Mexican government gave Pope Francis a Mexican-built Ram 1500. And in Europe, Mercedes has donated multiple G-Class-based popemobiles. Pope Francis converted one popemobile to a mobile health clinic in Gaza. He also requested his coffin be carried in the aforementioned Ram truck instead of a showy hearse.

In addition, the pope can have a personal car. Obviously, security often chauffeurs His Holiness around, but Pope Francis was known for tootling around Vatican City in the aforementioned vintage Renault his friend gave him—with 186,000 miles on the clock.

The pope is also often gifted vehicles for charity, such as Pope Francis’ $1.2 million Lamborghini. His Holiness traditionally signs these to increase their value and bring in more money for the cause.

Pope Leo XIV, ‘The first motorcycling Pope’

The Jesus Bikers is a German motorcycle club united by—you guessed it—their love of Jesus Christ. They began planning a September motorcycle pilgrimage to meet the new pope when they had a wild idea: “Why not build a Pope bike?”

His Holiness was open to taking possession of a motorcycle, if it was to go to charity. So the Jesus Bikers reached out to BMW. Markus Flasch, CEO of BMW Motorrad, says, “What initially sounded more like a crazy idea has developed into a great charity campaign.”

The German automaker donated a cruiser-style R 18. A shop painted it Ecclesiastical White and finished the custom with the Vatican’s coat of arms. Then 30 members of the Jesus Bikers club jumped on their hogs in Munich on August 31 and pointed their handlebars toward Rome. They stopped for Mass every day of their three-day trip and rode into Vatican City on September 3.

The BMW Motorrad CEO and Pope Leo XIV’s new motorcycle were waiting for them. Father Karl Wallner joked that His Holiness, “told the CEO of BMW that he himself liked to drive the motorcycle. So I think we have the first motorcycling pope.”

Leo XIV signed the motorcycle, as well as an honorary Jesus Bikers vest. He even sat on the motorcycle for a photo op, to cheers from the bikers.

In truth, the Jesus Bikers also donated a motorcycle to Pope Francis, who also signed it and sent it back for a charity auction.

This wasn’t the Jesus Bikers’ first long ride—they often do endurance rides to raise money for various causes. After meeting His Holiness, they are taking his BMW R 18 back to Munich, where it will be auctioned and proceeds donated to Father Wallner’s Missio Austria nonprofit. The nonprofit’s current mission is to help “the poorest of the poor,” children working in mines in Madagascar. You can see His Holiness accept the motorcycle in the video embedded below:

Obviously, Pope Leo XIV had to perch on his new bike side-saddle, what with his robes and all. But if he has his heart set on zipping around Vatican City on two wheels, may I suggest the perfect humble Italian brand? A vintage Vespa would look excellent in Ecclesiastical White.