These days, when we see something unusual on the Internet, we rarely ever believe it at first. “Is this AI?” is a common response, and that’s totally understandable. That’s what I thought when I saw the photo of Pope Leo XIV sitting on the saddle of a BMW R18 Transcontinental. That had to be AI, right?
Surprisingly, it wasn’t. The photos you see here of His Holiness striking a pose beside the German bagger are real. This all happened earlier this week at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City.
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Pope Leo XIV rides and signs a BMW R18
The R18 was customized and had embossed ‘LEO XIV’ badging on the boxer engine. According to a report by Visordown, the custom bike was presented by German rider group The Christian Jesus Bikers, who had then just completed a three-day motorcycle pilgrimage to the Vatican.
The group met with Pope Leo XIV so the pontiff could sign the BMW himself, as the bike will be auctioned off for charity. Visordown reports that the proceeds from the auction will go to Missio Austria, an organization that supports children forced into labor in some of the world’s most impoverished areas. No word yet on how much it’ll sell for, but it’ll
Just to be clear, this isn’t the Popemobile—we’ll probably never see a Pope rolling around in a two-wheeler in this lifetime. But wouldn’t it be cool if it were? You could call it...the ‘Popecycle.’ Or if it were a Harley, maybe ‘Holy Davidson’ would work... Does anybody have any witty suggestions?
