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Pope Francis just got back from touring South America, and you can bet the papal minions earned their salaries. The logistics of transporting the Pope and his entourage around the world — the scheduling, the security, the politics — is surely daunting.

Makes me glad I’m not a minion.

All of that administrative stuff notwithstanding, when you hear that the Pope is venturing out on a trip somewhere to greet the assembled masses, what immediately comes to mind?

Why, the Popemobile, of course.

Here is Pope Benedict XVI in 2013, posing with the newest Popemobile, a modified Mercedes-Benz M-Class:

This dazzling, diamond-white, fully-armored Popemobile features a motorized lift for the papal throne (for better visibility) and a new addition, energy-efficient halogen lighting. It’s a beauty.

In olden times, before motor vehicles came along, Popes were transported via an elevated chair held aloft by 12 uniformed minions (12 Apostles, 12 minions).

That conveyance was called a sedia gestatoria (Italian for “chair for carrying”). Basically, it was a large, elaborately decorated armchair on poles.

But, now that we have the technology, motor vehicles clearly make more sense, and are far speedier, than 12 poor guys on foot.

For the papacy, modernity began in 1930, when Pope Pius XI became the first Pope to get his own wheels: a modified Mercedes-Benz Nürburg 460. It featured a single elevated seat in the back.

At the time, the Vatican simply called it “the Rome vehicle.” It carried the license plate SCV-1, as did all Popemobiles thereafter. The SCV stands for “Status Civitas Vaticanae” (Vatican City State), and the 1 is for numero uno, the Pope.

In later years, as more Popemobiles were added to the fleet, the plates were numbered SCV-2, SCV-3, etc.

The 1930 Nürburg was in use for 30 years. In 1960, Pope John XXIII got a handsome replacement: a Mercedes-Benz 300D Landaulet with a convertible top.

At about that time, various countries began a tradition of providing the vehicle themselves when the Pope came for a visit. It became a matter of national pride to come up with something impressive and spiffy. The Vatican had no problem with that. It saved them the trouble and expense of transporting a Popemobile.

The first such locally-built vehicle was provided in 1965 by the United States. When Pope Paul VI came to New York, we met him with a special 1964 Lincoln Continental. It was a ragtop with a wind guard and a loudspeaker system, The Pope’s seat in the back could be hand-cranked into the air like a barber’s chair.

Over the years, popes used a variety of modified cars and trucks as Popemobiles. From 1980 to 1989, the primary Popemobile was a mother-of-pearl Mercedes-Benz 230 G. It featured a transparent cupola (know as the “greenhouse’) that was easily removable. This was the first vehicle in the classic Popemobile design that we know and love today.

In 1981, the Vatican also used a modified Fiat Campagnola, which is an off-road Italian Army vehicle.

But the Fiat was ill-fated. In May, as Pope John Paul II was passing through St. Peter’s Square with the cupola removed, a would-be assassin fired four shots, seriously injuring the Pope and two bystanders.

The Fiat now resides in the Vatican museum.

In the aftermath of the attempted assassination, all Popemobile cupolas were rebuilt with bulletproof glass. And, for security reasons, the cupolas are no longer removed.

Here is one of the first of the fortified Popemobiles, a 1982 Range Rover.

In 2002, John Paul got another new Popemobile, this one a tricked-out Mercedes-Benz G-Class in “mystic white.” The cupola featured a white throne with the Vatican’s coat of arms embroidered in the seat.

Apparently, John Paul was uncomfortable with news reports about the increasingly luxurious adornments to the vehicles. He declared that he found the term Popemobile to be undignified, and he asked people to stop using it.

(Popemobile, Popemobile, Popemobile.)

But no one ever came up with a better name. Further, Benedict and Francis, John Paul’s successors, haven’t complained about the term. So, Popemobile it is.

(Popemobile, Popemobile, Popemobile.)

Benedict resigned soon after the 2013 M-Class was added to the fleet. Pope Francis still uses it today for trips abroad.

But, as you know, Francis has taken pains to tone things down and minimize the regal trappings of the papacy. He has tried to present himself as a simpler man, a Pope of the people.

As Archbishop of Buenos Aires and later as a cardinal in Rome, Francis often used public transportation. When he became Pope, he had his official papal ring made with silver instead of gold. Things like that.

Accordingly, for local trips, Francis uses either an ordinary Ford Focus from the Vatican motor pool or his personal favorite ride, a vintage 1984 Renault 4.

The Renault was given to him by an Italian priest, Father Renzo Zocca, who put 200,000 miles on it while ministering to the poor in the slums of Verona.

They say Francis likes to drive the Renault himself. Good on him.