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The smallest country in the world is none other than Vatican City. It’s less than a fifth of a mile in size, at 0.17 square miles, while the mighty city of Rome around it covers approximately 496 square miles. A small size, however, does not mean it’s insignificant. Far from it. Vatican City’s head of state is the pope, currently Pope Leo XIV, who is also ruler of the Holy See. His country might be small in terms of land mass, but it’s an international heavyweight, necessitating official travel at times.

An influential politician of this caliber will typically spend a lot of time on private jets. The most prominent example, perhaps, is the U.S. President’s Air Force One, transporting the president over the years. The pope is a unique case, though, in that he does not have his own private jet. Nevertheless, given his status, His Holiness still has his own unique and exclusive arrangements that he will adhere to when traveling by air, adaptable to the specific places that he’s visiting.

An airplane carrying the pope is sometimes referred to as Shepherd One. Just as Air Force One isn’t a specific plane but a call sign used to identify one carrying the president, the so-called Shepherd One isn’t a specific plane either. According to Christopher White, National Catholic Reporter’s Vatican correspondent (via Messenger of Saint Anthony) says, “… the Vatican does not own its own aircraft. When the pope accepts an invitation to travel to a particular country, the Vatican has to charter an aircraft to take him there and bring him back to Rome.”

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As one of the world’s most prominent leaders, the pope is always accompanied his usual retinue of security and other staff members. Around 70 members of the press will typically also be on the aircraft, though they won’t occupy the same section of the plane as the pope. At his discretion, the Supreme Pontiff may have a meet-and-greet with the journalists en route to the event at hand.

The type of aircraft chartered for the journey will depend on factors such as the nature and scale of the event, as well as the duration of the flight. For instance, on one tour in September 2024, Pope Francis, who famously expressed his true feelings about modern technology,  journeyed between destinations in Oceania and Asia. In crossing multiple continents and making several stops, practicality dictated that several aircraft changes were necessary. Along the way, he traveled from Rome to Jakarta in a comfortable Airbus A330. It was a Royal Australian Air Force C-130 that flew him between locations in Papua New Guinea. 

As for which carriers have the honor of hosting His Holiness, Christopher White notes in Messenger of Saint Anthony, “On the outbound flight it’s almost always ITA Airways, the new national Italian carrier that replaced Alitalia. On the return, it’s sometimes ITA or on occasion the national carrier of whatever country he is visiting.” There are always exceptions and unique cases, though.

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“Shepherd One,” is just one mode of transportation that popes have used on their official business. The best known would have to be the legendary “Popemobile,” an armored street vehicle. This, too, has taken many forms, with an especially notable version arriving in December 2024. Mercedes-Benz, proud maker of the Mercedes G-Class that had been modified into decades’ worth of Popemobiles, created an electric version for Pope Francis.

There have been almost a century of popemobiles, with Pope Pius XI’s luxurious 1930 Mercedes-Benz Nürburg 460 Pullman being the first true example of one. Back up in the air, meanwhile, popes have also frequently traveled by helicopter, with Pope Benedict XVI taking to the skies in an Italian military VH139 on his final flight from the Vatican at the end of his reign. According to the Catholic News Agency, this was a highly fitting way for him to say his farewells to the role since Benedict XVI, remarkably, had earned a helicopter pilot’s license.