Pope Francis plans to drive 25-year-old used car around Vatican

Pope Francis has shunned his Pope Benedict's BMWs and Mercedes cars for a used 1984 Renault that he plans to drive himself around Vatican City.

According to Italian weekly magazine Famiglia Cristiana, the car, which has already logged 190,000 miles on the road, is a second hand gift from a northern Italian priest, who used the car to visit his poor parishioners, the New York Daily News reported.

Francis was reluctant to accept the gift after priest Rev. Renzo Zocco,70, from Verona, sent him some fan mail earlier this year, pledging his support and offering up his car, while reassuring him that it would serve as a testimony to the work that the priest had done in the working-class neighbourhoods of Verona.

According to ABC News, the white coloured car had been fitted with a new 800 cc. 30-horse power engine, and it uses a French stick shift that folds out from the dashboard and deck-chair-style seats.