Dear Executives of Mercedes-Benz and dear friends,

I offer all of you a warm welcome to the Vatican on the occasion of the exhibition “A Century of the Popemobile,” which commemorates almost one hundred years of collaboration between your company and the Holy See. This longstanding relationship began in 1930, when Pope Pius XI received the first Mercedes-Benz automobile, and has continued through successive pontificates. I am therefore pleased to express my gratitude to you, and to the many generations of designers, engineers and workers whose dedication and expertise have made this longstanding partnership possible.

The exhibition offers an opportunity to reflect on the remarkable advances in automotive technology, as well as the deeper significance of the journeys undertaken by the Successors of Peter. Over the decades, the Popemobile has evolved from a means of transportation into an instrument of encounter, enabling the Pontiff to draw closer to the faithful during pastoral visits and public celebrations. In this way, your work has helped facilitate the Church’s mission of reaching out to people and bringing a message of faith, of hope and of charity to the world.

This same pastoral concern is also reflected in the first fully electric Popemobile, presented to my predecessor, Pope Francis, in preparation for last year’s Jubilee of Hope. I recall his encouragement to the automotive sector to work towards “making mobility truly sustainable and accessible” (Francis, Address to the Italian Federation of the Automobile Club, 23 January 2025). In this spirit, I encourage you to continue placing technological innovation at the service of human dignity, care for creation and the common good.

With these thoughts, I thank you once again for your generosity and for the service you have rendered to the Holy See over so many decades. Upon you, your loved ones, I willingly invoke Almighty God’s blessings of wisdom and strength.