Škoda unveils new stained-glass car for Popes visit
Škoda Ireland has unveiled an amazing car with stained-glass windows specially commissioned for Pope's visit.
The Czech carmaker has specially commissioned the decorative car to celebrate the Pope’s visit to Ireland on Sunday.
Skoda said the windows were completed by Evan Connan, Ireland’s “last fully trained traditional stained-glass designer,”. The stained glass windows have over 1,700 individual pieces of glass hand cut and embedded in 25 metres of lead, in a traditional church style.
The unique stained glass car windows took 200 hours to complete in a small workshop in Crumlin, Dublin. The completed windows weigh 87kg and have been fitted to the contours of a Škoda Karoq.
The Public Relations and sponsorship manager for Škoda Ireland, Cathal Kealey said the company wanted to “produce something unique” to mark the Pope’s visit to Ireland as its an official car partner to the World Meeting of Families as well as the Papal visit. He said:
“We are delighted to have worked with one of Ireland’s most unique craftsmen to complete this celebration of the Irish families, in stained-glass,”
“Evan was given a blank canvas to bring modern Irish families to life, with colour and imagination.
“He has managed to do just that with the 17 different families portrayed.”
During the official visit, the Head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis will travel in a “carefully modified” Škoda Rapid. After his departure, all the cars will be donated to a charity nominated by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, in accordance with the Pope’s wishes.
The first time a Pope visited Ireland was when Pope John Paul II came to Ireland in 1979, an estimated 2.7 million people lined the streets to see him. The numbers this time are expected to be much lower over the weekend of August 25 and 26.
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