--- description: The Pope prefers open-top vehicles so he can be closer to crowds title: Pope Francis: The Popemobile is a "Sardine Can" image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta8482564ceb3d937/698697a2361760172e90c9da/pope-francis-popemobile.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Pope Francis: I Won't Use 'Sardine Can' Popemobile ## Video: 2013 Person of the Year: Pope Francis Reimagines the Papacy [Watch (HLS stream): 2013 Person of the Year: Pope Francis Reimagines the Papacy](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/aYRnrfUV.m3u8) (3:30)  _Published 2013-12-11. From his comments on gays to his penchant for Twitter, Pope Francis's every move has garnered strong reactions from the world media._ by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 14, 2014 4:07 PM CUT  Pope Francis waves to the crowd, from his pope-mobile, as he leaves the Manger Square after presiding over an open-air mass on May 25, 2014, outside the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank Biblical town of Bethlehem. Pope Francis waves to the crowd, from his pope-mobile, as he leaves the Manger Square after presiding over an open-air mass on May 25, 2014, outside the Church of the Nativity in the West Bank Biblical town of Bethlehem.Ahmad Gharabli—AFP/Getty Images by [Sam Frizell](/author/sam-frizell/) ## Sam Frizell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 14, 2014 4:07 PM CUT Pope Francis called his [bulletproof Popemobile a “sardine can”](http://www.lavanguardia.com/internacional/20140612/54408951579/entrevista-papa-francisco.html "undefined") in an interview with a Spanish newspaper, saying he prefers to be in the open and connected with people despite the possibility of an assassination attempt. “I know that something could happen to me, but it’s in the hands of God,” Francis told the Barcelona newspaper La Vanguardia. Popes have traditionally ridden in the custom glass-sided Popemobile since an assassination attempt on then-Pope John Paul II in 1981, but Francis has often chosen closer physical proximity with crowds–and more troublesome security situations. Francis’s tours through St. Peter’s square have been in an open-topped vehicle rather than the bulletproof version preferred by the the previous Pope Benedict, who retired last year and is now Pope Emeritus. “It’s true that anything could happen, but let’s face it, at my age I don’t have much to lose,” Francis said. \[[La Vanguardia](http://www.lavanguardia.com/internacional/20140612/54408951579/entrevista-papa-francisco.html "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/2875908/pope-francis-i-wont-use-sardine-can-popemobile/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/2875908/pope-francis-i-wont-use-sardine-can-popemobile/"},"headline":"Pope Francis: I Won't Use 'Sardine Can' Popemobile","datePublished":"2014-06-14T16:07:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:25:16.502Z","description":"\"It's true that anything could happen, but let's face it, at my age I don't have much to lose\"","url":"https://time.com/2875908/pope-francis-i-wont-use-sardine-can-popemobile/","keywords":["Vatican"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta8482564ceb3d937/698697a2361760172e90c9da/pope-francis-popemobile.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sam Frizell","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sam-frizell/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta8482564ceb3d937/698697a2361760172e90c9da/pope-francis-popemobile.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"PALESTINIAN-ISRAEL-VATICAN-RELIGION-POPE","caption":"PALESTINIAN-ISRAEL-VATICAN-RELIGION-POPE","creditText":"Ahmad Gharabli—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/2875908/pope-francis-i-wont-use-sardine-can-popemobile/","name":"Pope Francis: I Won't Use 'Sardine Can' Popemobile"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"2013 Person of the Year: Pope Francis Reimagines the Papacy","description":"From his comments on gays to his penchant for Twitter, Pope Francis's every move has garnered strong reactions from the world media.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/aYRnrfUV/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2013-12-11T12:42:10.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/aYRnrfUV.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/2875908/pope-francis-i-wont-use-sardine-can-popemobile/","duration":"PT3M30S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/2875908/pope-francis-i-wont-use-sardine-can-popemobile/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```