Pope Francis now has his own mini popemobile after getting a good deal on a used car that he plans to drive himself.

Vatican spokesman, Father Ciro Benedettini, said Francis accepted the 1984 Renault 4, donated for free by a priest in northern Italy who used it to visit poor parishioners.

The four-door car, in papal white, is manual shift and has a new engine.

Fr Benedettini said: "The Pope intends to drive it."

The donor, the 79-year-old Father Renzo Zocca, says he took Pope Francis for a short drive in the car at the Vatican on Saturday and that Pope Francis told him he knows how to drive it.

Fr Zocca said he thinks Pope Francis will use it for short commutes on Vatican grounds.

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