Practicing what he preaches, Pope Francis showed up to lead his first public prayer at the papal summer home in a humble Ford Focus.

The man-of-the-people pontiff smiled from a lowered window as the no-frills compact car — with a starting sticker price of about $16,000 — rolled up for the informal gathering at Castel Gandolfo, a hill town just outside of Rome.

Just last week, as part of his ongoing austerity drive, Pope Francis asked a new generation of religious leaders to eschew fancy cars.

“It hurts me when I see a priest or nun with the latest-model car. You can’t do this,” the pope told them. “A car is necessary to do a lot of work, but, please, choose a more humble one. If you like the fancy one, just think about how many children are dying of hunger in the world.”

His predecessor, Pope Benedict XV1, tooled around town in a custom-made Renault, a BMW X5 and a Mercedes.

Meanwhile, true to form, Pope Francis is not staying at the pretty papal summer home for the season. He made the trip just for the day.