Pope Francis now on Instagram

MANILA, Philippines – Pope Francis has joined popular photo-sharing social network site Instagram on Saturday, March 19. 

The pontiff goes by the handle @franciscus. In his account bio, it was written: “I want to walk with you along the way of God’s mercy and tenderness.” As of this posting, his account already has over 300,000 followers.

In his first post, Pope Francis was photographed kneeling down in prayer. It was accompanied by the caption “Pray for me,” which was also translated in 8 other languages.

Pray for me Rezad por mí Pregate per me صلوا من أجلي Priez pour moi Módlcie się za mnie Rezem por mim Betet für mich Orate pro me

A photo posted by Pope Francis (@franciscus) on Mar 19, 2016 at 4:24am PDT

His Twitter account also touted his “new journey” online.

I am beginning a new journey, on Instagram, to walk with you along the path of mercy and the tenderness of God.

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 19, 2016

Pope Francis’ debut on the celebrity-dominated social medium, which the Vatican confirmed on Wednesday, marks the third anniversary of his inauguration as the leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Catholics. The Pope chose the date himself, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Monsignor Dario Vigano, the Prefect of the Secretariat for Communications, told Vatican Radio on Friday, March 18, that the decision to launch an Instagram account “arises from the Pope’s conviction that images can reveal many things.”

Photos from Vatican daily the Osservatore Romano will be posted, as well as brief videos, “to try to show details which demonstrate…aspects of intimacy and inclusion which Pope Francis lives every day,” he said.

Pope Francis met Instagram chief and founder Kevin Systrom at the Vatican last month. Instagram, which was acquired by social media giant Facebook in 2012, had over 400 million users as of the end of February.

The Pope has some 30 million followers in 9 languages on Twitter, which he joined in 2012 under the handle @pontifex – the word “pope” in Latin. – Michael Bueza, with reports from AFP/Rappler.com