An online casino has made the highest bid for a 1999 gray metallic Volkswagen Golf which formerly belonged to Pope Benedict XVI. The winning bid was 188,938.88 euros or roughly $243,183(US).

GoldenPalace.com was the winner of the car which was sold at eBay of Germany. The seller, Benjamin Halbe, purchased the car from a dealer without realizing that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, was the previous owner. When Halbe received the car's registration documents, he was in for a pleasant surprise.

'GoldenPalace.com is delighted to own this holy vehicle,' casino Chief Executive Richard Rowe said in an e-mailed statement from his company, which is based on the island of Antigua. 'We have amassed a collection of what many consider to be holy artifacts. It seems only natural to get a blessed vehicle to carry these items.'

GoldenPalace.com plans to showcase the car to help raise money for charity. Last November, the online casino paid $28,000 for a 10-year-old grilled cheese sandwich that the seller said had an image of the Virgin Mary on it.

Ironically Ratzinger probably never drove the car. The present pope does not have a driver's license according to a published report by the Agence France-Presse. Still, the owners of the casino are convinced they bought a holy roller.