Remember the 2015 Fiat 500 Lounge Hatchback used by Pope Francis during his visit to New York City?
Well, it just sold sold for an amazing $300,000 with net proceeds benefiting Catholic Schools, Catholic Charities, Catholic Relief Services and the Catholic Near East Welfare Association. Retail value for the Fiat is $24,695. The winning bidder of the Charitybuzz auction is philanthropist and businessman Miles Nadal.
“It has been an honor to work with the Archdiocese of New York. I am thrilled that our auction of this one-of-a-kind item sold for more than 12 times its retail value raising such significant and important funding for these worthwhile causes,” said Coppy Holzman, CEO of Charitybuzz.
“I don’t think New York will ever forget the historic visit of Pope Francis to Our Lady Queen of Angels school. The funds raised through this Charitybuzz auction will help to support Catholic schools, Catholic Charities, and international relief agencies, something very close to the heart of Our Holy Father!” said Dr. Timothy Mcniff, Superintendent of Schools for the Archdiocese of New York.
Nadal, who is a renowned car collector, with a world class collection of more than 130 cars and motorcycles, will have the opportunity to meet with Cardinal Timothy Dolan at St. Patrick’s Cathedral or the Archdiocese of New York to bless the car. The 2015 Fiat 500 Lounge Hatchback was provided by Chrysler and used by His Holiness for his Papal Visit to the United States on Sept. 22-27, 2015. The Secret Service confirmed the Holy Father used this Fiat, as confirmed by the Archdiocese of New York who will provide a letter of confirmation to Nadal.
Past auction items from Charitybizz.com include a Private Papal audience at the Vatican, a seat at the White House Correspondent’s dinner, a walk on role with Ben Affleck in Batman, VIP access to the world’s most celebrated events (The Super Bowl, Oscar after-parties, Fashion week), a flight with Harrison Ford as your pilot, Celebrity home and yacht charters, a Lamborghini Aventador and dinner with everyone from Hillary Clinton and Mike Bloomberg to Robert De Niro, Bono, Paul McCartney, Jack Dorsey and Warren Buffet. A coffee with Tim Cook raised more than $600k for the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights.