Pope Francis To Join Instagram On March 19
Pope Francis will soon have another social media platform from which to spread the Word of God.
The Vatican recently confirmed that the Pope will make his Instagram debut on Saturday, March 19, which marks the third anniversary of his appointment as the leader of the Roman Catholic Church.
According to a Vatican Radio announcement made by Vatican Prefect for Communications Monsignor Dario Viganò, on Tuesday, March 15, Pope Francis will soon be posting Instagram snaps from the handle Franciscus.
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The Pope's new digital home will enable him to reach more of the world's more than 1 billion Catholics. Francis, who holds one of the most-followed accounts on Twitter, already reaches millions via his tweets, which he posts from the handle @Pontifex. His English Twitter account boasts more than 9 million followers while his Spanish account has more than 11 million. The Pope sends out his tweets in nine languages, including Latin.
The move to reach more millennials via Instagram appears to be another step in the Vatican's social media strategy of attempting to engage both believers and non-believers around the world, with a focus on younger generations.
According to TIME, Pope Francis met earlier this year with Instagram co-founder and CEO Kevin Systrom to talk about how images can "unite people across borders, cultures and generations."
During his papal audience, Systrom presented Francis with a book containing 10 Instagram images showing the power of photos to unite. These images included one of the Nepalese earthquake, another of the migrant exodus into Europe, and one of the Baltimore protests, among others.
The Pope appears to have acknowledged the essential role of technology in peoples' lives today. In January, he also met with Apple CEO Tim Cook and Alphabet chairman Eric Schmidt.
Pope Francis has undoubtedly shook up the Catholic Church since his inauguration in 2013. Since taking his seat at the Vatican, Francis has shared his opinions on gay marriage, climate change, and others that were ignored by those before him.
