The pope’s ride was not what people were expecting.
As the pontiff’s plane touched down at Joint Base Andrews, he was greeted by a red carpet, cheering fans, a band and a welcoming committee including President Barack Obama and the First Family.
So it seemed a little anti-climactic when the famously humble leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman Catholics climbed not into a limousine but into a modest dark grey Fiat 500L for his drive to the Vatican Embassy in Washington. The small car was dwarfed by the bulky SUVs of the president’s motorcade.
As the pontiff rode off in his humble ride, waving at the crowd through the open window, Twitter exploded with praise for the ‘people’s pope,’ calling the choice of car everything from “adorable” to “sending an environmental message.”