Pope Francis' iPad Auctioned for $30K to Benefit Uruguay School

Pope Francis gave his old iPad to a priest in Uruguay who turned around and auctioned it for $30,500 to benefit a school there. 

According to Catholic World News, the winner gets the iPad, which has the pope's name engraved on it, and a certificate attesting to the fact that it was once owned by the pontiff.

The Castells auction house, based in Montevideo, ran the bidding for the iPad.

"May you do something good with it," Pope Francis told Uruguayan priest Gonzalo Aemilius when he gave him the digital tablet, according to Reuters. Aemilius turned the iPad over to the Francisco de Paysandu High School, located about 230 miles north of Montevideo.

"His Holiness Francisco. Servizio Internet Vatican, March 2013," reads the inscription on the iPad, noted Reuters. The owner certificate was signed by the pope's personal secretary, Fabian Pedacchio Leaniz.

Pope Francis, who has its own Twitter account, said during World Communications Day last year that he is a fan of social media but acknowledged it does have its challenges, according to News.va.

"The Internet, in particular, offers immense possibilities for encounter and solidarity," said Pope Francis. "This is something truly good, a gift from God."

The New York Times reported that a Harley-Davidson motorcycle the Pope was given as a gift was auctioned off for $327,000 last year.

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