Pope Francis’ account on the social network Instagram (@franciscus) turns five today, with over 7 million people following him and who, in turn, interact, comment and share the various moments summarized in photos and videos of the already eight years of pontificate. .
On March 19, 2016, the online adventure of the Francis Channel began in this social network “in order to become closer to the world in pity and tenderness”, the Vatican remembers today.
Since then, his “followers” have grown to more than 7,722,000, especially in Brazil, the United States, Colombia and Italy, in an age range mainly between 25 and 34 years, he explains.
In the biography section, the Argentine pontiff is as follows: “I want to go with you on the path of God’s mercy and tenderness.”
Every day are published the photos taken by the Vatican photographic service that shows Francis from the general public, the visits of heads of state and other personalities, going through apostolic travels and always with special attention for the little ones, for the fragile, the poor.
Like all “instagrammers”, Francis has the most popular photograph of these five years: the image of the pontiff climbing the atrium of St. Peter’s Basilica alone, in an empty square, on March 27, 2020, on the occasion of a special moment of prayer in the middle of a pandemics.
From their homes, people followed him with over a million “appreciations” and 24,200 comments, thanking them primarily and making sure he joined in the prayer.
Another of the most watched moments was the recent trip to Iraq, which had 17 million views and two million interactions.
Among the comments are those of many Iraqis, both Christians and Muslims, who thank the pope for the trip, his words of reconciliation and peace and for drawing the world’s attention to their country.
Francisco also has a Twitter account that his predecessor, Benedict XVI, started in 2007 and is present in nine languages and now has over 45 million followers.
March 19 is also the day the official pontificate of Jorge Bergoglio, elected pope on March 13, officially begins, with a Mass attended by about 200,000 believers, including more than 130 foreign delegations and 30 heads of state.
In his homily that day, Francis made a vibrant defense of nature and said that the power of the pontiff is to serve others, especially the poor. Basically the motto of his pontificate and which he later reflected in the documents he published.