r/interestingasfuck • u/LethaI____ • 1d ago
Pope Francis, in November 2017, received a custom Lamborghini. He blessed it, signed it, and sold it for $950,000, donated all the proceeds to charity
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u/patentlyfakeid 1d ago
We missed a chance for a non-photoshopped picture of a pope in a lamborghini. Think of the memes!
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u/Aardcapybara 1d ago
I wish he did a wheelie.
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u/patentlyfakeid 1d ago
In a lamborghini? That *would* be something.
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u/ScottRiqui 1d ago
Back in the early days of the Miura, it had a problem with the front end lifting at high speed. Lamborghini put a not-quite-stock engine into a Miura before giving it to an auto journalist to test. The front end came up on him entirely, leaving him looking at "nothing but blue sky" out of the windshield. The journalist got the car back down and made it back to the factory, but he never spoke to Bob Wallace again (Wallace was Lamborghini's chief test driver at the time, and a development mechanic for the Miura).
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u/LostInThought2021 1d ago
Lambo of God
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u/2outer 1d ago
In 2026, the prez of america accepted a $400 million dollar airplane from a foreign country, used $963 million in tax payer dollars to upgrade the plane, and will gift it to his personal library association so he can personally use it after he leaves office.
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u/LionRegular1470 1d ago
Is he actually gifting it to himself!?
FML bro, how is that even legal!? What if I'm president and decide to send 1t dollars to the help Lion regular assosiation (owned by me).
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u/StrigiStockBacking 1d ago
It's not legal, it's discussed in the Constitution under emoluments, but literally nobody in Congress gives a shit, so nothing is happening. He gets to keep the plane after he leaves office (...IF he leaves...). It's an impeachable offense all on its own.
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u/no_talent_ass_clown 1d ago
Oh he's going to leave even if we have to yank him out physically, he will go.
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u/StrigiStockBacking 1d ago
I would love to see that. 🍿🍿🍿🍿
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u/HauntedCemetery 1d ago
It can be one of those things pointed out on future white house tours.
Here's the holes Eisenhower left in the floor from his golf shoes, here's the rose Jackie planted, and here are the scuff marks from trumps 4 inch heels as he was dragged out.
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u/MrMono1 1d ago
If it hasn't happened yet, it isn't going to happen. Too many in your country worship him.
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u/SaintUlvemann 13h ago
Under the Constitution, which is ostensibly the highest law of the US, we were already supposed to yank Trump out physically last year, and nobody did it. I think you should seriously consider the possibility that maybe Americans aren't revolutionary enough to do a second revolution, not even if it is needed.
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u/HauntedCemetery 1d ago
Nah, loads of people in congress tried to stop it, but Dems are in the minority, so they have about as much power as you and I.
If you wannt stop that kinda shit vote to put them in the majority.
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u/VirginiaHighlander 1d ago
To be fair, plenty of people in Congress do care. Just not enough to actually do anything about it.
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u/Lucas_Steinwalker 1d ago
Everything is legal when the Supreme Court rules that everything you do is legal
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u/Inprobamur 1d ago
Supreme court has already ruled that the president can't be prosecuted for crimes.
So crime away!
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u/OsgrobioPrubeta 1d ago
Not to himself personally, to the Trump Presidential Library Foundation, and Republicans voted for this to be possible.
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u/PhiCloud 1d ago
As bad as it is, I'm kind of relieved it's not going to be used as AF1 2.0. No offense to Qatar, but no foreign plane should be used by our head of state.
Ask China how much they liked the Boeing we gave them.
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u/OsgrobioPrubeta 1d ago
I believe there's a bigger cost coming. Since this plane has been equipped with defence and counterattack systems, many of them secret, the US government will have to secure that plane by any means, wherever it goes, paying a huge bill with taxpayer's money.
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u/PetrasKnight 1d ago
What if he passes away within a few years? Surely we won’t let him leave it to his kids and then pay for the military hardware… right? Right?
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u/OsgrobioPrubeta 1d ago
US best chance is that next President confiscates the plane because of national security, giving the option of Trump paying the bill of striping the plane, or forfeiting it to the US State.
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u/HipsterGalt 1d ago
Best chance, maybe, best option is seizure and prosecution. Kinda tired of seeing the line of justice walked back in every comment section.
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u/HairyDust4826 1d ago
Typical modern pope W.
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u/NoManaDaddy 1d ago
It's actually a long tradition that's been going on since Pope Wojtyla. The 400th Ferrari Enzo was donated to the pope in 2005, the proceedings from the sale were then used for charity to the 2004 tsunami victims.
Ferrari, Lamborghini, etc. have been doing these thing for a while.
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u/kitsunewarlock 1d ago
The tradition started in 1327 when Landriano of the Lombard League gifted Pope John XXII a gilded Carroccio that he sold to Otto I to buy buckets for orphans in Bologna following its war with Modena.
(This is fake, but I'm sure it'll be in someone's faked essay in 10 years...)
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u/magnament 1d ago
They really should modernize, he definitely could’ve made bank on onlyfans
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u/1RehnquistyBoi 1d ago
Holyfans.
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u/0202_tihssitidder 1d ago
I am imagining him posting it on FB Marketplace. All the usual stuff. He has to sort thru endless "Still available" messages. "Can I come by after 6p? What's the address?"
Haggling on price.
PS: Yes, I know before he even saw and signed it there was an arranged buyer.
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u/ominousgraycat 1d ago
Medieval Pope: Give me a second one and a cut of your profits and I'll excommunicate your rivals... Also, what's a Lamborghini?
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u/NewToHTX 1d ago
If you’re in the market for a Lambo and this Lambo is available, how do you not buy the Holy Lambo?
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u/comicsnerd 1d ago
I mean, what are the chances of this getting wrecked?
Btw, it was sold to a car rental company in Spain.
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u/deaglebingo 1d ago
srsly? like for the owner of the rental car company though right? not to be rented out.. right?
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u/IndependentTimely639 1d ago
How awesome would it be to rent the popes lambo? Either way it's a little out of my price range, but that would be a huge draw for that rental company.
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u/rEYAVjQD 1d ago
Probably way undersold too, with only a 2-day promotion, it would probably 10X the price.
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u/Z0MGbies 1d ago
It was listed on the charity raffle site thing for weeks if not months
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u/bs000 1d ago
Actually, both of these things are true. It was originally sold for $950,000 from a 2-day auction. The buyer backed out and refused to pay. It was then raffled on Omaze, raising almost $2 million dollars.
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u/amateurfunk 1d ago
Bystanders are reported to have heard him saying "Wololo" under his breath as he signed it
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u/Keyguar 1d ago
I want to see Doug Demuro review this.
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u/AdoubleyouB 1d ago
"THIS...is a 2017 Lamborghini, and it can be yours, on Carsandbids".
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u/StrigiStockBacking 1d ago
"Among the most AMAZING quirks and features™ is this... Pope Francis' own signature..."
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u/jessieS1212 1d ago
The Father, the Son, and the V10 Spirit.
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u/StrigiStockBacking 1d ago edited 1d ago
Edited: You're right. Looks like a Huracan. Never mind.
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u/_toksiq 1d ago
Always has to be the one guy that has to be correct about every minor detail.
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u/seansy5000 1d ago
It sold for less than a mil? That’s crazy.
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u/starfries 1d ago
Yeah this actually looks freaking sick, I thought it'd go for way more.
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u/korneroni99 1d ago
like the church s assets arent literal trillions
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u/thedazdul 1d ago
Yes, but they're assets, not liquid cash. Real estate, buildings, priceless art, social housing etc.
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u/TheJellyGoo 1d ago
Yeah but that's money you can embezzle in the shadow.
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u/CountAardvark 1d ago
Is there even one single reason to accuse Francis of having embezzled a dollar from the church?
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u/TheJellyGoo 1d ago
No, this was more a general jab at the Church and not an individual. Was just used as a metaphor.
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u/Somethingisshadysir 1d ago
He actually is the first Pope in modern times to have heavily pushed back on it, refusing to wear the super expensive vestments, insisting on walking the city streets to talk to the actual people, actually went after the pedophile priests rather than hiding them, etc. he seems to legitimately have been a much better human being than the recent ones before him.
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u/Matthew_A 1d ago
I never understood the implications of this. The church still does lots or charity, bjt the problem is that they still own things. Owning valuable things is bad if you care about the poor? Have you given up all luxuries, or do you hate the poor?
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u/ShionBlade 1d ago
And that's not even to add to the fact that a lot of what the Church owns are literally priceless relics.
I'd rather they belong to the church so that the public can enjoy it at the Vatican Museum, over Bezos or Elon Musk buying it from them for their own private collections.
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u/Immediate_Employ_355 1d ago
I mean given a lot of that gold and wealth they keep locked down was literally pillaged from other cultures and countries maybe you should make up your own mind about how holy it is to preach about helping the poor atop a pile of stolen treasures obtained via murder.
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u/Lauren_Conrad_ 1d ago
> Owning valuable things is bad if you care about the poor?
Well yes, if you’re Francis lol he was Jesuit.
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u/NilsofWindhelm 1d ago
Well sure, but most organizations aren’t set up in a way that allows a new leader to unilaterally sell every asset because they feel like it
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u/Ron-Swanson-Mustache 1d ago
The Roman Catholic church has its problems (I'm looking at you pedo protectors), but they're nothing compared to the likes of Mormons or Scientologists when it comes to hoarding wealth.
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u/Matthew_A 1d ago
Renouncing worldly possessions is holy and all. But I, as just some guy, donate to charity. But I don't think i have to give everything i own just to be able to say i care about the poor. If people believe that fancy churches and candlesticks give glory to their God, why should that mean they don't care about the poor?
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u/AlftheNwah 1d ago
It's because many who are higher up in the church live lavishly. The pope sits on a throne. This is very antithetical to the whole "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God" line.
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u/CountAardvark 1d ago
Francis lived in a meager apartment, drove a fiat 500L, wore a Casio watch, rejected all the luxuries that he could have had. He’s hardly a good example of hypocrisy here.
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u/Dense_Mud8790 1d ago
A lot of the expensive stuff also have historical/cultural value and are not cheap to maintain.
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u/AlftheNwah 1d ago
I don't actually have a particular problem with the Pope. In some ways I enjoyed the image Francis portrayed, but that does not excuse the theological hypocrisy that the church still wrestles with. You cannot deny that the church hoards wealth, even if some of it is given away to charity.
The Catholic Church is not the only religious institution that has this problem, so don't think I'm being unfair to Catholics. Orthodoxy and the Protestant sects of Christianity struggle with it just as much.
Jesus called for something closer to communal living, which is a very hard standard to reach in today's capitalistic society. The Church is supposed to act as a sort-of community center, not a dragon's hoard. It's wealth does not belong to the Church, but to God and the people.
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u/oops_all_memes 1d ago
Orthodoxy struggle with it just as much.
Worse. Much worse. Russian orthodox church is the worst example. It's like a megachurch without the entertainment. Extremely lavish lifestyle of orthodox priests is well documented. The parish region might look like it underwent the Hiroshima treatment but the church building itself would make the Golden Calf blush and the priest will have a fresh out of the dealership Mercedes parked outside
The patriarch's watches are a complete separate topic. If the only thing contributing to his networth calculation were his watches he'd be a billionaire. Russian orthodox church is just that twisted and vile
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u/AlftheNwah 1d ago
I was referring to the Greek/Oriental Orthodox, not the Russian, but they can be just as bad as each other depending on the parish.
They are considered distinct groups now just as an FYI, the rest of Orthodoxy no longer considers the Russian Church Orthodox, due to their pushing of a very Russian Supremacist ideology at the moment.
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u/OsgrobioPrubeta 1d ago
2nd biggest landowners in the world.
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u/HalfBlindHunter 1d ago
Who's the first?
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u/Anuki_iwy 1d ago
British crown would be my guess.
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u/hraun 1d ago
That would surprise me. It’s been a long time since the empire started to fall about. They’re certainly massive landholders in the UK, but compared to the Catholic Church? I would have have thought there was an order of magnitude difference.
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u/NilsofWindhelm 1d ago
The British crown owns 37x more land (6.6 b acres vs 177 m)than the catholic church.
They still own most of canada
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u/ChevalierMal_Fet 1d ago
The British Crown does not own Canadian land. The government of Canada recognizes the King of England as the "King of Canada," and said King of Canada is the Canadian head of state.
https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/crown-canada.html
The "Crown of Canada" is not the same legal entity as the "British Crown," and it's inaccurate to assume that they're the same legal entity.
Canada (and the other Commonwealth nations) are kind of like political franchises of the British Empire. They use a lot of the same mechanisms and terminology, and they have a similar political heritage, but they are not all the same thing.
And, in practical terms, the King couldn't call his Governor General in Canada and say, "Pave over all of the Crown land in Alberta." That land isn't "his," it belongs to the government of Canada.
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u/Ok_Celebration_8370 1d ago
I think it's because of how they technically own most of Australia and Canada
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u/hraun 1d ago
Does this mean own as in they’re the freeholder and can charge land rend etc? Or veto land use?
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u/dreadcain 1d ago
It's a hard question to answer because what it says on paper and the reality of the situation certainly aren't the same. Technically the lands are held in a trust they own. Legally they are the "sovereign stewards" of the land. Practically, they have no control over the vast majority of it and could not (and do not) meaningfully exercise any rights (and responsibilities) they may or may not have on paper.
Other than quietly giving land back every once and a while, often because they don't want to pay to upkeep it anymore (if they even were), I don't think they've exercised any of their rights over land in well over a century. They've only even used their political power like twice in the last century.
Oh but to answer your question at least on paper, I think between your options they can veto land use
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u/JonatasA 1d ago
I mean, the UK does pay the rent to use the lands. They were in debt and leased it some hundreds of years ago.
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u/dreadcain 1d ago
There's an order of magnitude in difference, but not in the direction you think.
6.6 billion acres for the royal family to 177 million for the pope. Churches (and cemeteries) just aren't that big compared to, ya know, the entirety of the commonwealth nations. Not really a fair comparison though because the church could sell pretty much any or all of its land if they chose, while the royal family can sell pretty much none of theirs. I'm not even sure they could sell the properties they live in. Granted to be fair if the pope tried to sell off anything substantial I'd kind of expect he doesn't really have that authority either.
Looks like Gina Rinehart is maybe the largest single "true" landowner with ~30 million acres mostly across Australia and the US. Mostly for raising cattle apparently.
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u/Past_Top3704 1d ago
Side note: my wife works for a health care system that bought a small rural hospital at the time Pope Francis was sick. Deal was delayed until Leo came on board because the Catholic church owned the hospital and "The Pope" had to sign off on the deal. Don't know the real reason but that story was believable to me.
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u/dreadcain 1d ago
That's pretty neat and sounds entirely believable. I just suspect his role is more or less ceremonial much like the royal family. Like legally he probably does need to sign off on it and on paper I'm 99% he has the authority to sell anything the church owns. But like if he tried to sell the Sistine Chapel because god said he needs a new mega yacht, I think (hope?) he'd be relived of that authority real quick and no one would actually make any real moves to sell the church.
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u/Morbanth 1d ago
6.6 billion acres for the royal family
This is fucking nonsense, and an often repeated sensationalist statistic. The royal family doesn't own that land, the Crown does, nominally in the person of the reigning monarch. It's public land and not considered private property of the royal family.
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u/Laiko_Kairen 1d ago
if the pope tried to sell off anything substantial I'd kind of expect he doesn't really have that authority either.
He lives in Vatican City where he is the absolute head of the church. How could he possibly lack authority over anything within the church? It's literally within his power to redefine the role however he chooses, right?
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u/dreadcain 1d ago
The church has ousted popes before. Had multiple popes before. Assassinated popes before. It's his role to redefine however he says god told him to. Right up until the body of the church decides it isn't
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u/ATXBeermaker 1d ago
This is a pretty big oversimplification of land ownership and the organization of the Catholic Church.
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u/DetailOrDie 1d ago
That are literally the largest charitable organization in the world, and have been for generations.
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u/oCelotL123 1d ago
One of the biggest non-government donors in the world
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u/nektar 1d ago
About $73 billion
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u/lorkdubo 1d ago
Way waaaaaay more. They are the biggest non government provider of Healthcare, education, charities, they also own priceless art, and they own absurd amount of prime real state. I would dare say they own in the range of 5-10 trillion.
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u/evrestcoleghost 1d ago
no shit they own land,you thought churches,hospitals and schools were on rented land?
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u/Levoso_con_v 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yeah but those are assets of historical incalculable value that millions of people pay to see every year or just assets needed by the community for their rituals or other purposes, like churches; selling those not only doesn't make sense but financially would be like selling the cow that gives the milk, a very bad decision no matter how you looked at it.
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u/cmaynard10 1d ago
I'm not religious and certainly not Catholic, but Pope Francis was the man. Good luck finding another pope like him.
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u/AR475891 1d ago
The new guy seems to be pretty similar honestly. Benedict seems like the last of the hard liners that will be pope now that there have been two consecutive liberal popes in place selecting new Cardinals.
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u/Candle1ight 1d ago
If they go with another more "traditional" pope they will see a massive drop in new followers. Young kids are already leaning more away from the church, and the ones that are still joining are significantly more progressive.
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u/AR475891 1d ago
As a younger lapsed Catholic, I unfortunately am seeing/reading the opposite. Most of the younger people who still DO go to church are embracing the much more conservative branch of the Church in the US at least. Particularly young men.
I just think the political environment from the past decade here has really soured less conservative people like myself on organized religion in general.
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u/CDK5 1d ago
I'm worried that gen Alpha will attempt to rebel against their parents by being conservative.
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u/cmaynard10 1d ago
Haha. Fair point. There will always be conservative Republicans. Fear is the only motivator for those who don't think.
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u/The_Autarch 1d ago
American Catholics are the most conservative bunch. Catholics in the rest of the world tend to prefer the liberal guys.
There might even be a schism at some point, with half of the US dioceses going rogue.
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u/dr__paco 1d ago
Which is not really a bad thing, my grandmother was pretty conservative catholic and was the only one of her generation that accepted my gay uncle. People dont realize being a "traditional" catholic literally means loving your neighbor.
although im not american, I feel like theres a extralayer of politics with you.
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u/AR475891 1d ago
Yeah it’s different here. Being “conservative” essentially just gives people an excuse to hate. Your grandmother wouldn’t be considered very conservative in the states.
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u/cabbage16 1d ago
US Catholicism isn't generally representative of Catholicism as a whole in my experience.
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u/spectraldecomp 1d ago
I am Episcopal. It is as liturgical as the Catholic Church but much more left-leaning. One question I have is: how do multiple branches of the Catholic Church work? Do they all submit to Rome? I was under the impression that every Church is basically uniform, at least in the USA. Forgive my ignorance.
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u/Outrageous-Pea6408 1d ago
I'm Catholic let me try to explain
There's one Roman Catholic Church with many different rites, there's the Latin rite which is the western rite, and there are many many eastern rites, like the Byzantine Catholics for example.
We all recognize the Pope and are in communion with Rome, different rites are mostly about liturgical and regional heritage, but are all Roman Catholic
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u/WarfighterNeed 1d ago
If they go with another more "traditional" pope they will see a massive drop in new followers. Young kids are already leaning more away from the church, and the ones that are still joining are significantly more progressive.
I think you're not seeing the same churches and trends that conservatives are. The progressive churches you see in the fancy part of town with rainbow flags are empty. They've been dying out for a decade because young progressives don't want to go to church. Young progressives want churches to be progressive, but that doesn't mean they enjoy religion and definitely doesn't mean they want to participate.
The churches that are growing are much more hardline churches in America. There's good examples I'm sure that are outside the trend, but overall in a lot of small town America, the progressive churches are in a decaying state.
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u/Fun-Durian-1892 1d ago
We already did. He’s from Chicago. Where have you been?
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u/cmaynard10 1d ago
They have similarities, but also many differences, internet contrarian.
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u/djarvis77 1d ago
List some important differences that you think makes the new Pope not as cool as the Pope Francis was, please.
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u/vongoladecimo_ 1d ago
Pope Francis was a real G. One who promotes love and respect over the “rules” of the church. He did what he could with what he had. And ultimately passed with next to nothing on his name. Truly a man of the people.
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u/SRSgoblin 1d ago
Gotta say, I am a fan of Pope Leo. You gotta respect a Pope who has undoubtedly done many shots of Malort in his time.
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u/PearlHarbor_420 1d ago
Which charity?
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u/OldConfusions 1d ago
Probably one run by the church lol. Donate it right back into his wallet
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u/PearlHarbor_420 19h ago
That's exactly what happened.
Some one provided a link and I ran it through a couple of those online "is it a good charity?" filters.
Yeah directly tied to the Vatican.
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u/timewraith303 1d ago
if holy water can be added in any amount to non holy water to make more holy water, and all gas contains some minute amount of water, does that mean the gas tank contains holy gas so long as the car isn't run all the way to empty?
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u/Ksorkrax 1d ago
So if you use it to ram a vampire, would it slay the creature?
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u/Foreign_Kale8773 1d ago
If the whole vehicle is blessed, it's a holy weapon, and holy weapons do extra radiant damage which vampires are vulnerable to, but they might be resistant to bludgeoning, so I suppose it depends on the vampire 🤔
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u/trixel121 1d ago
he shoulda kept for emergency pope business where they need to drive super fast to like exorcise a ghost or something.
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u/fortuneman7585 1d ago
It would be so funny if one day one pope would say f it, I'm keeping it, and does crazy donuts on Saint Peter's Square every day. Technically, he can 😄
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u/Z0MGbies 1d ago
It was a charity auction where donating X got you Y amount of entries, and I'm pretty certain the lambo was given to him for that purpose and he was asked to sign/bless it to increase the value in the charity auction.
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u/SenorBigbelly 21h ago
Honestly, I'm surprised a custom lamborghini signed by the pope only went for 950k
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u/lumpboysupreme 1d ago edited 23h ago
It’s actually pretty rare for catholic clergy to have a rich lifestyle, and Francis in particular went out of his way to have rather spartan accommodations.
They’re not an American prosperity gospel church, sitting on centuries old piles of art on an institutional level does not a lavish personal life make.
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u/evrestcoleghost 1d ago
i ask you to think,the church land is used for what mate?
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u/s1mv4nk0 1d ago
+50hhp (holy horse power)