While most high-ranking officials use extremely expensive and sometimes armored limousines as common transport, Pope Francis is well known for his criticism towards extravagant spending.
The Pontiff had some members of the church in his sight in the past due to their inclination towards wealth and advised priests and nuns to choose more humble vehicles and to focus on the poor instead.
This is exactly what the former Argentine Cardinal did during his latest official visits to the US, where he had a Fiat 500L sitting at his disposal, which eventually sold at auction for $82,000, and in South Korea, where he used a Kia Soul.
Now in Armenia for a two-day stay last weekend, Pope Francis had an even more humble car for transportation: a white Dacia Logan, in which he was seen waving and touching people in the crowd, despite being surrounded by an entire “platoon” of bodyguards.
In the small country located on Turkey’s eastern border, right under Georgia and west of Azerbaijan, home to 3 million people, the Pope approached a sensitive subject – the 1915-1917 genocide, which is still being denied by Ankara’s officials.