Pope Leo makes social media debut with emotional message to followers

It's been just under a week now since Pope Leo was announced as the successor to late Bishop of Rome, Pope Francis, who passed away on Easter Monday (21 April).

Since then, the 69-year-old Chicago-born pontiff attended his first mass on Friday (9 May), the day after the major announcement was made on Thursday (8 May).

And, this week, he's also now made his social media debut with an emotional message to his millions upon millions of followers online.

On Tuesday (13 May), Pope Leo published his very post on the papal social media accounts, which were employed to great effect by his predecessors, Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI.

The English caption read: "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 also translated the message into six other languages; Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, French, Polish and Dutch.

According to a press release from the Dicastery for Communication on Tuesday, the Pope has chosen 'to maintain an active social media presence through the official papal accounts on X and Instagram'.

His first post on Instagram, an account which boasts 7.9 million followers at the time of writing, included several photos from the first days of his pontificate including his first public address at the Urbi et Orbi just after being appointed.

On Instagram, the Pope’s new account bears the handle @Pontifex - Pope Leo XIV - which will be the only official papal account on the platform owned by Meta.

And as for the content posted by the late Pope Francis?

Well, the Vatican has ensured it will be archived in a special section of the Holy See’s institutional website.

Pope Francis' @Franciscus account, which currently has 10.4 million followers, will remain accessible as a 'commemorative archive'.

Reacting to Pope Leo's debut post, one Instagram user penned: "Perfect words to begin a Papacy! May God bless you, Holy Father!"

"I just LOVE that our Pope wants to connect with everyone and be accessible through social media," beamed a second. "Thanks your Holiness."

Another chimed in: "Thank you for building a bridge & keeping us informed."

And a final Instagram user praised: "Thank you for continuing to keep Papa Francisco's account for those of us, who still want to access it in remembrance of him."