Papa Uno hits the block

A Fiat 500L made famous by a high-profile user -- I know, it’s a big club, but I want to leave you guessing -- is going on the auction block for charity this month in Philadelphia.

A black Fiat 500L used in September in Philadelphia by Pope Francis during his first visit to the United States will be auctioned off Jan. 29 during the black-tie gala prior to the start of the city’s auto show.

Proceeds from the live and online auction will benefit ministries of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia as well as The Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania. According to press reports, a second papal 500L used during the U.S. visit will be on display as well and might also be sold.

The two black 500Ls -- let’s call them Papa Uno and Papa Due -- made a big splash during Pope Francis’ six-day visit to Washington, New York City and Philadelphia in September. The modest Italian four-door hatchbacks contrasted sharply in papal motorcades amid a lineup of jumbo-size SUVs carrying the pope’s security detail and entourage.

But while online interest -- social media mentions and search traffic, especially -- in the humble 500L more than tripled while Francis was riding around in the back seat, it didn’t seem to result in many extra sales. The 500L averaged just 276 sales per month during the last three months of 2015.

As I confessed in September, I own a Fiat 500L. Unfortunately, the one I own today is not the same one that I owned in September.

In late October, my wife was broadsided at a four-way stop by a driver who ignored the stop sign and plowed into her 500L, setting off the passenger-side airbags and flipping the car over onto the driver’s side. Though she was trapped inside the car for more than 15 minutes, her only injury beyond a little soreness was a quarter-inch scrape on her left pinky finger.

The car was not so lucky, however. Insurance adjusters totaled it out less than 10 months into its life (and taught me a lesson about the occasional value of GAP insurance in the process). But when it came to replacing the lost 500L, my wife wanted nothing to do with anything else. So I bought a nearly identical one, used.

Look, the Fiat 500L doesn’t get much love for a lot of reasons -- including its former dual-dry clutch powertrain. And any number of my fellow auto journalists and experts will no doubt give me grief for not just buying one, but buying two.

So be it.

But when it really mattered -- when my wife faced potential injury during a very serious crash and walked away with just a minor scratch -- the 500L did its job and kept her safe. Well, that was good enough for me, and for her.

Because as any good married man will tell you, the one thing his wife has in common with Pope Francis … is that neither is ever wrong.