Pope Francis joined Instagram on Saturday under the name “Franciscus,” making him the first pontiff with a personal Instagram account.
In an interview with Vatican Radio, Monsignor Dario Vigano, the Prefect of the Secretariat for Communications, said the Pope believes in the power of images. The goal of the new Instagram account is to tell the story of the Pontificate through images allowing people who want to follow or know more about the Pope and to see and share his gestures of tenderness and mercy.
For his first post, Pope Francis shared a photo of himself praying with the word “Pray for me” in various languages.
His second post is a photo of himself and a cross. The post was shared without a caption.
The new account comes one month after meeting with Kevin Systrom, Instagram Chief Executive Officer. The two discussed how images can unite people across different cultures and languages, according to Vatican Radio.
Francis also has a personal Twitter account under the name “Pontifex” and has nearly 9 million followers.
