I try not to talk politics and religion. I like my friends and family too much to engage in such a divisive topic. But during my morning drive, listening to Lamar and Sheri on my favorite radio station, I caught a story that made me pause: Pope Leo XIV was gifted a custom BMW R 18 Cruiser by the Jesus Bikers, a Christian motorcycle club from Germany. Germany.
This wasn’t a flashy stunt. The bike was part of a fundraising initiative, redesigned with papal symbolism: white paint, gold accents, and a cross motif. The Jesus Bikers, who blend leather, chrome, and Christian faith, often participate in events that promote peace, charity, and spiritual reflection. Their mission rides on two wheels but reaches far beyond the road.
Though the Pope told the CEO of BMW that he used to ride motorcycles, he had no plans to keep the motorcycle. Instead, he blessed and signed it. The bike is to be auctioned by Sotheby's in Munich on October 18, 2025, with proceeds going to support children working in mica mines in Madagascar.
Beyond this event, the Jesus Bikers have consistently used their pilgrimages and public appearances to raise awareness and funds for humanitarian causes. approach blends faith, spectacle, and storytelling—a formula that resonates far beyond the biker community.
But as I sat with the story of the Jesus Bikers and their papal gift, I couldn’t help but feel the contrast between that gesture of peace and the headlines that followed. The assassination of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University, the school shooting in Colorado, and the fatal stabbing of Iryna Zarutska on Charlotte’s Lynx line, all within weeks, have left many of us stunned, grieving, and asking harder questions.
As I said at the start of this post, I don’t talk politics or religion much. Not because I don’t care, but because I care too much about the people around me. Still, these stories—of generosity and violence, of faith and fear—seem to be riding the same rails lately. A motorcycle blessed by the Pope, auctioned to help children in Madagascar. A train ride home that ended in tragedy. A campus debate interrupted by a single, fatal shot.
Maybe the real question isn’t whether we talk about politics or religion. Maybe it’s whether we’re still willing to talk at all—across the table, across the aisle, across the divide. Maybe the Jesus Bikers had it right: leather and chrome can carry a message of hope, if we’re brave enough to ride it forward.
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