Vatican sells Lamborghini Huracan to raise funds for Iraqi Christians persecuted by ISIS

Before Pope Francis’s visit, $240,000 is used to restore two destroyed buildings in Iraq

The Lamborghini Huracan was a gift from the Italian car company. AFP

Money raised from the sale of a Lamborghini Huracan that the Italian luxury car maker presented to Pope Francis has helped Christians in Iraq who were attacked by ISIS.

After Pope Francis blessed the car, which is white with gold stripes, it fetched $950,000 at auction in London. Some of that money was donated to infrastructure projects in Iraq.

The Church in Need Italia charity helped Christians living in Nineveh Plains to rebuild a nursery school and other buildings destroyed by ISIS fighters.

About $240,000 was used to complete two building projects in Iraq – a Syrian Catholic nursery school, which has capacity for 70 children, and a room at a Catholic church dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Alessandro Monteduro, the charity’s aid director, said that he wanted the Pope's donation to help Christians attacked by ISIS.

The restoration work took place in Bashiqa, north-east of Mosul, and Bishop Yohanna Boutros Mouche said he hoped it would encourage displaced families to return.

“We are happy to finish the work on the Virgin Mary kindergarten, which will help and encourage our children to return to Bashiqa and study again,” he said.

So far, about 45 per cent of the families driven out of the Nineveh Plains region by ISIS have returned, the charity said.

Pope Francis donated the rest of the money to assist victims of human trafficking and to fund humanitarian work in Africa.

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