Pope Leo XIV made his social media debut on Tuesday (May 13), with a first Instagram post, featuring photos from the first days of his pontificate. He borrowed words from his first public address at the Urbi et Orbi after his election on May 8, and wrote: "Peace be with you all!"
"This is the first greeting spoken by the Risen Christ, the Good Shepherd. I would like this greeting of peace to resound in your hearts, in your families, and among all people, wherever they may be, in every nation and throughout the world," he added.
Pope Leo XIV has chosen "to maintain an active social media presence through the official papal accounts on X and Instagram," according to a press release from the Dicastery for Communication on Tuesday.
The late Pope Francis maintained an active presence on social media platforms - Instagram and X (formerly Twitter), sharing excerpts from his speeches and images from public events.
These posts offered "near-daily accompaniment throughout Pope Francis' pontificate with short messages of an evangelical nature and exhortations in favor of peace, social justice, and care for creation", said the press release.
Pope Francis' posts will be archived in a special section of the Holy See's institutional website.
Pope Benedict XVI was the first Pope to open a social media account, sending the first papal tweet on December 12, 2012.
About Pope Leo XIV
Chicago-born Robert Francis Prevost is the first American pope in history, but is considered as much a cardinal from Latin America because of the many years he spent as a missionary in Peru.
Robert Francis, 69, chose his papal name with the help of artificial intelligence (AI). He also said that his name references Pope Leo XIII, who presided over the church at the dawn of the industrial revolution.
"I chose to take the name Leo XIV. There are different reasons for this, but mainly because Pope Leo XIII in his historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution," said the pope, according to the Vatican's translation of his speech.
The pope referred to AI as another "industrial revolution" and highlighted the challenges of AI.
"In our own day, the church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defence of human dignity, justice and labour," he said.
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