By Agence France-Presse
The Vatican said on Tuesday, His election may have been announced with white smoke, but Pope Leo XIV will communicate with the Catholic faithful on X and Instagram.
Before becoming the first ever Pope from the United States, Robert Prevost was a regular user of X, unafraid to tackle prickly political issues.
Now, as pontiff, he will inherit the official “@Pontifex” accounts on X used by his predecessor Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI before him.
Published in nine languages—English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, French, German, Polish, Arabic, and Latin—the papal X accounts amassed over 50 million followers, the Vatican said.
On Instagram, the new Pope’s only official username account is @Pontifex — Pope Leo XIV.
The Vatican said in a statement, “The Holy Father Leo XIV has chosen to maintain an active social media presence through the official papal accounts on X and Instagram.”
Through his personal “@drprevost” account on X over the years, Prevost’s amplified criticism of US President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, pilloried Vice President JD Vance, and called for racial justice.
If the content published by Pope Francis is any guide, Leo’s papal posts are likely to be less controversial, comprising mostly excerpts of prayers and homilies.
His first Instagram post Tuesday was taken from his inaugural public address, beginning with the words: “Peace be with you all!”
The Pontiff on Tuesday celebrated mass in Rome with other members of his religious order, the Augustinians, and then had lunch with them—a regular routine of his when he was a cardinal, according to Vatican News.
A small crowd gathered outside to meet him in the private visit to the order, where the spirit of community plays a key role.
Pope Benedict XVI, who led the world’s Catholics between 2005 and 2013, was the first pontiff to have a then-Twitter account, launching @Pontifex on Dec. 12, 2012.
The official Instagram account, @Franciscus, was added on March 19, 2016.
During the 12 years of Francis’ papacy, the Vatican published around 50,000 posts across the @Pontifex and @Franciscus accounts.
Interaction peaked in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic lockdown, the Argentine’s messages were viewed 27 billion times, the Vatican said.
Content posted by Francis’ accounts has now been archived.
