Pope Benedict XVI joined social networking site Twitter last week under the username @Pontifex.
His Holiness racked up 875,000 followers in little over a week, but he still has some way to go to catch up with Lady Gaga’s record 31 million followers.
The Pope’s first message came at midday on Wednesday (12/12/12;12.00 p.m.) – the Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe, one of the most important dates in the calendar for Catholics in Mexico.“Dear friends, I am pleased to get in touch with you through Twitter. Thank you for your generous response. I bless all of you from my heart,” read the Pope’s debut tweet.
“Offer everything you do to the Lord, ask his help in all the circumstances of daily life and remember that he is always beside you,” he added a few hours later.
While the Pope sent the inaugural tweet himself, subsequent messages will be posted with his approval by staff in the Vatican’s secretariat of state. Papal tweets will be sent simultaneously in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, Polish and Arabic.
Although the Pope did not mention the Virgin of Guadalupe in his tweets, he did mark the occasion in a speech at the Vatican delivered to an audience comprised of many Mexican Catholics.
“I greet the many faithful of the state of Michoacan, Mexico, those from that beloved land who have offered me this beautiful handmade nativity scene. May Our Lady of Guadalupe protect the noble Mexican nation and grant it unity, justice, harmony and peace,” the Pope said in Spanish, standing beside a nativity scene and two Christmas trees sent by Michoacan residents.