It’ll set you back at least $40,000, but it’s for a good cause
Imagine: he might have drafted "The Joy of the Gospel" on it, or jotted down some ideas for his forthcoming encyclical on the environment.
Now Pope Francis’ iPad is being auctioned off, and the lucky buyer will have the satisfaction of knowing it was once used by the Successor of St. Peter—and of helping out a school in South America.
The still-working computer has engraved text that reads "Su Santidad Francisco" and "Vatican Internet service," with the date March 2013, according to the Montevideo, Uruguay, auction house which is hoping to raise at least $40,000 for the school.
"This is the iPad the Pope was using regularly and, besides, it has a certificate of authenticity from the Vatican itself," auctioneer Juan Castells said, according to a Fox News Latino report.
Though the market value of a similar iPad is around $660, this one will not be sold if bids do not reach the $40,000 mark, said Monica Olivelli, principal of the Liceo Francisco school in Paysandu.
The school is based on one in Montevideo, run by a Father Gonzalo Aemilius, whose friendship with Pope Francis dates to the time when the future Pontiff was archbishop of nearby Buenos Aires, Argentina. When Father Aemilius visited the Vatican recently, Francis gave him his iPad "to do with whatever he considered appropriate," Olivelli said.
To help finance the new school, which will serve children from low income families, Aemilius donated the iPad Francis gave him.
The auction will take place April 14.
