Illinoisan to sell only car Pope John Paul II owned

AUBURN, Ind. -- An Illinois businessman is selling the only car Pope John Paul II was believed to have owned.

Jim Rich bought the light blue 1975 Ford Escort GL at auction in 1996 for $102,000.

Rich vividly remembers the day in 1998 when he took possession of the car.

In the company of a translator, Rich handed Pope John Paul II a check for the full amount, and the pope handed Rich the car keys.

Not much was said between the two, and Rich admits he was nervous.

"I handed him a check, and he handed me his keys, and I said, 'Can I take a picture of you with the keys?' and he laughed."

Dean Kruse is president and owner of Kruse International in Auburn, which sells collector cars on eBay. He said the car could now bring between $1.5 million and $5 million when it is put on the block June 3 and 4 at the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas.

Rich said he wishes he didn't have to part with the car, but he needs to resolve serious financial problems involving his restaurant, bar and entertainment complex in Sugar Grove, Ill.

"It seems like a solution, I'll put it that way," the 40-year-old Rich said. "Life is not perfect and you gotta do what you gotta do."

He said the car has 60,000 or so original papal miles, plus a couple of miles he put on it. He's debating whether to include the rosary beads it came with.

Pope John Paul II's former car isn't much to look at, Kruse said, and without papal provenance it would be worth, at best, less than a hundredth of what he paid for it.

Papal cruises

But he said the pontiff did use it -- before and after he became pope.

Kruse said a Vatican official told him the pope "loved to sneak out dressed in commoner clothes and take hikes and slip away in this car."

Kruse said the timing of the auction is perfect because of the enormous interest in Pope John Paul II since his death.

Rich also has a 1990 Corvette once owned by basketball legend Michael Jordan and a 1987 bulletproof Rolls Royce once used by Britain's royals. He cautioned that selling the pope's car is an all-or-nothing proposition. If he does not get a high enough bid, he will keep the vehicle.

Some of the proceeds will go to an orphanage in Chicago, he added.