A donated mobile medical unit staffed by volunteer doctors and medical students and sporting the Holy See’s coat of arms is now touring the streets of Rome and offering free health care to the needy.

The Catholic Herald is reporting on the RV-style vehicle, donated by the Vatican’s almoner’s office, which is better able to reach the poor migrant population.

Dr. Lucia Ercoli, director of the Istituto di Medicina Solidale, told L’Osservatore Romano that using a medical unit with Vatican license plates lets the migrants, “who live in truly inhumane conditions” in the forgotten corners of Rome, see and experience “the closeness of the Pope and the Church.”

Staffed by an association of medical volunteers which has been active since 2004, the city’s poor can now receive top-notch medical care for free. Many of their patients are pregnant women and children or migrants who endured torture in their home countries.

This new unit will provide additional outreach to the poor who may not be able to avail themselves of the weekly Church-run medical clinic which has been operating near a city train station for the last year.

“Thanks to the Vatican camper, so far we have seen more than 2,000 people,” Dr. Ercoli said, mostly because instead of hoping those in need will show up at a clinic, they can now drive into shanty towns or park alongside abandoned buildings where the poor and homeless seek shelter.

In addition to these services, the Istituto di Medicina Solidale has also been providing medical care for those in need every Monday at a first aid station near the colonnade at St Peter’s Square. This is also thanks to support from the papal almoner’s office which is funded by charitable contributions from Pope Francis and private donors.

This latest initiative proves that God’s mercy knows no boundaries!

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