Apple's latest iPad can be bought for under $500, but one particular iPad recently sold for $30,500. Why? Because it was once owned by Pope Francis and has an inscription on the back, as well as a certificate to verify that it is authentic.
The device was auctioned off in Uruguay, but the new owner of the iPad is being kept secret. The tablet was originally a gift to the pontiff, and it was given to Gonzolo Aemilius last year.
When the Pope gave Aemilius the tablet, he reportedly told the priest to "do something good with it."
Instead of using it to scroll through Internet memes, Aemilius donated it to the Francisco de Paysandu high school for the poor, which then auctioned it off. It certainly seems as though some good was done with the device.
The back of the device has an inscription, which reads "Su Santidad Francisco" or "His Holiness Francisco," followed by "Servizio Internet Vaticano," or Internet Services Vatican. The auction includes the Pope's Logitech keyboard.
The Vatican has somewhat of a history in recent times with Apple's iPad. In 2011, when the Vatican first opened a Twitter account, it tweeted using an iPad. Despite this, while the Pope says that the Internet is a gift from God, he confesses to being a "disaster with technology."
Pope Francis has auctioned off a number of his items in the past. Last year, he auctioned off a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, which was a gift to him, for over $250,000. This is over 10 times the normal asking price for a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. Pope Francis also auctioned off a Harley-Davidson motorcycle jacket that was signed by him for almost $68,000.
The winning bid for the device was reportedly placed over telephone. While in the end, the auction took place through a local auction house called Castells, there were reportedly a number of failed attempts to sell the device through the likes of Christie's and Sotheby's.
Pope Francis has largely been praised for his more liberal stance on global issues, signaling a turn from the church away from conservative views on issues such as same-sex marriage. This has led him to appeal to a younger generation. The Vatican has even gone as far as to open up a Twitter account for him @Pontifex. It is highly likely that this trend of wanting to appeal to a younger generation will continue over the next few years and into the future.
