Pope Leo shuns the Popemobile for a BMW Holy Moto!
Pope Leo XIV has been spotted in St Peter’s Square with a specially customised BMW R18 Transcontinental, which will now be auctioned for charity.
Pope Leo XIV has taken part in a special ceremony at St Peter’s Square this week, which saw him signing and sitting on a BMW R18 Transcontinental.
The specially customised bike was presented to Pope Leo by The Christian Jesus Bikers, who had just completed a three-day motorcycle-mounted pilgrimage to the Vatican. Starting in Schaafheim, Germany, the group stopped off for a service (we assume of the religious kind - not mechanical!) in Altötting, St. Magdalena. They then headed for mass in Verona before entering Rome on September 2. The meeting with Pope Leo took place on September 3, rounding out the trip.
You may also like to read our BMW R18 B review.
Aside from seeing the head of the Catholic Church sitting on a hunking great motorbike (427kg of hunk, to be precise), another strange juxtaposition was presented to the world. Dressed in his immaculately crisp and white cassock, the Pope stood shoulder to shoulder with the groups of leather-clad rag-tag bikers, which isn’t something you see every day.
Contrary to some reports, it has not been stated officially that Pope Leo actually rode the bike - legal red tape and safety concerns would have put paid to that, although pictures from the event do show him perched side saddle on the seat while holding a white ‘jet’ style helmet.
The one-off BMW won’t just sit in a Vatican garage gathering dust, though. Instead, it’s heading to the auction block to benefit people in Madagascar. Every penny raised from an auction for the bike will be going straight to Missio Austria, which supports children forced into work in one of the poorest corners of the planet. Cash is crucial, but so is awareness – the whole campaign is designed to shine a spotlight on lives that are often forgotten.
And if that wasn’t enough, the “Jesus Bikers” – yes, that’s actually their name – are firing up their engines for another Peace Ride over the Alps. This time, there’s extra symbolism in the mix. As well as rolling up for an audience with the Pope himself, they’re gathering handwritten peace messages from people along the route, which they’ll then hand over to Leo XIV in person. If you fancy scribbling one yourself, there’s even a downloadable template on their website.
As for the bike, it didn’t just roll off a production line and get a holy handshake. A team from the Witzel motorcycle workshop spent weeks stripping, rebuilding, and re-imagining the R 18. The design apparently takes inspiration from the Pope’s famous white Popemobile, and features an obligatory white paint scheme, as well as papal logos and imagery dotted around the bike.
The bike will roll over the auction block on October 18, and we’ll be following closely to see how much it sells for.
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Simon (AKA Toad) has been working within the motorcycle industry for more than twelve years, and a member of the motorcyclist family since birth. Growing up around British-built single and twins, it was inevitable that a life on two wheels was on the cards, from a very early age!
