Armando Jesús Lovera, a Peruvian living in Spain and working for a book publisher, drives a Citroën. Like anyone with an older but not too old Citroën or Peugeot, he sometimes finds the car throwing a CEL or a warning in the dashboard next to the radio station and temperature – for example, the typical “Anti-Pollution System Faulty” or “Catalytic Converter Fault” warning.
As many of us do, he troubleshoots his car problems with his friends over WhatsApp. One of his more mechanically inclined friends is called Bob,” who suggested that Armando keep his eye on the engine temperature after Armando told him that his Citroën was having issues during a drive home from a book event and sent Bob a photo of the warning.
“What’s going on with the Citroën?” asked Bob. “It’s dying.” “Is it running or is it stopped somewhere?” Bob, as you might have guessed from the headline, is Pope Leo XIV, originally known as Robert Prevost before his papal era. A recent New York Times article, “One of the Pope’s Best Friends Works in Spain. They Often Talk Cars,” describes how Armando Jesús Lovera and “Bob” still exchange texts now and then, and the conversation includes how to keep cars running.
The Pope, in his present life, delivers spiritual guidance and leads the Catholic church, but it is somehow a nice thought that he knows oil passages as well as Bible passages. Especially since the TU engines in 1980s-2000s Citroëns sometimes develop head gasket issues due to the oil passages leaking in the front right corner of the engine.
I’ve watched the recent papal HBO series, Young Pope and its sequel, New Pope. They’re great, but I’m already hoping for the third series to be Car Pope.
We’ve written extensively about how the current pontiff is a car guy from Chicago, not afraid to ride a motorcycle. A year ago, Jason also noted that he sort of resembles Lee Iacocca, and that the Vatican State is tariff-free and, as a result, could work as a location for a car factory. Ford’s Jim Farley mentioned that Pope Leo used to drive a manual Ford Fusion before he moved on to riding in Popemobiles.
It’s not too far-fetched to think he might read automotive sites and blogs sometimes, especially if he does diagnose car problems over WhatsApp with some of his oldest friends. Some publications speculate that he is the first pope to know how to change spark plugs, but as Pope John Paul II drove a humble mid-1970s Ford Escort before being elected pope in 1978, it’s likely he also got his hands dirty in the engine bay.
Robert Francis Prevost met Armando Jesús Lovera in the early 1990s, as they lived in the same formation house in Trujillo for seven years. As Lovera tells in his new book, “From Robert to Pope Leo”, they often went on the same road trips around Peru in the ‘90s, talking cars. In Peru, Prevost drove a grey Toyota Hilux, which is probably one of the most dependable vehicles you can drive on South American roads. Some of those trips to communities in the Andes or to the capital city, Lima, took over twelve hours. Talking cars is a great way to while away the time.
In 1999, Prevost returned to the Midwest to lead the Augustinian Order, and Lovera eventually moved to Spain, leaving the missionary life behind. They kept in touch through the years, and after Lovera got married, Prevost became a friend of the family. To Lovera’s young daughters, the Pope is still part of the family rather than the head of the Catholic Church. The New York Times also has this great quote about how Pope Leo’s brother still calls and asks for computer help.
“And Roberto says, ‘John, I’m the pope,’” Mr. Lovera recalled. “‘Oh, sorry, pope,’” the pope’s brother responded, according to Mr. Lovera. “‘My computer is broken.’”
On his own calls to the pope, Mr. Lovera said that he didn’t talk about tech or politics or about the church’s future. Instead, he said, “I talk about cars!”
I wonder if they discussed the new Ferrari Luce, whose steering wheel the pope was gifted a while ago.
Top graphic images: DepositPhotos.com; The Vatican
This reminds me of the second time I had to change out the fuel pump on my ’99 Silverado. I had just moved to Chicago and it broke down a block away from my new apartment in the city. We looked like the Clampets with all the crap I had loaded in there. I was dreading dropping the tank AGAIN by myself when I got some advice from our pastor back home, Father Tom. He told my Dad “Just unbolt the bed and tilt it up for easy access to the tank. It is like 6 bolts.” That made the job a breeze! Good guy. Also a motorcycle rider.
Has anyone mentioned how much they enjoy the graphics that go along with each story? They usually have some level of humor to them, but this one with the pope is especially funny.
SCENE: INT. POPEMOBILE — DAY
ARMANDO: Bob, seriously. What is this thing?
BOB: (patting the dash) This particular car wasn’t blessed by just anybody, Armando. It’s got a Vatican motor, a five-point-seven-liter Beatification V8, it’s got Conclave tires, Sistine suspension, Holy See shocks. It’s a model consecrated before the indulgences ran out, so it’ll run good on holy water or regular unleaded. It’s got Gregorian cruise control, it’s got AM, it’s got FM, it’s got a little fish on the back that’s actually a fish. It’ll do zero to sixty in the time it takes to say a Hail Mary, and the trunk’s roomy enough for every cardinal who didn’t make the cut. I picked it up at the Swiss Guard auction.
ARMANDO: (long pause) …It still smells like a Hilux.
BOB: (pulling out) Some things you don’t bless away.
Just remember, the pope is fallible and may misdiagnose car troubles unless he’s speaking ex carbureta.
That hit me just right
COTD
And a huge thumbs up from me
Okay, so let me nerd out for a second here.
The on-board computer display used to illustrate the article is not a Citroen one, but a Peugeot 307 display. The display on the Citroen C4 had a orange background with black characters, while the Peugeot 307 had a black background with red characters. The graphics are the same though.
This is what makes The Autopian so great.
The devil is in the details.