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The Pope’s iPad just sold at auction for $30,500

An Apple iPad once owned by Pope Francis has reportedly been sold for $30,500 (£20,600).

The holy slate went to the highest bidder at a charity auction for a school in Uruguay earlier than this week.

That’s according to a report from Reuters that claims the tablet was bought up by an unidentified phone bidder.

The Castells auction house in Montevideo reportedly handled the auction, but auctioneers refused to disclose the identity of the winning bidder.

It’s not just any old iPad either – the Pope’s tablet carries an inscription on the back that reads: “His Holiness Francisco. Servizio Internet Vatican, March 2013.”

There’s also a certificate paired with the slate that’s been signed by the Pope’s personal secretary, Fabian Pedacchio Leaniz.

Related: Best Tablet 2015

According to NBC News, the school officials actually struggled to sell the device through famous auction houses Christie’s and Sotheby’s.

The iPad was actually given to the school by Uruguayan priest Gonzalo Aemilius. Pope Francis gifted the device to him along with the words: “May you do something good with it.”

From leaked images, it appears that the tablet in question is a fourth-generation iPad, with a Lightning connector clearly on show.

This isn’t the first time Pope Francis has flogged personal effects at auction. Last year, his Harley-Davidson motorcycle (who knew?) raked in over $250,000 (£170,000).

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