| Connect to share and comment |
Talia RalphDecember 12, 2012 11:16
Pope sends first tweet from personal handle @Pontifex
Pope Benedict XVI hit 1 million followers before sending his first tweet Wednesday morning.
Pope Benedict XVI hit 1 million followers before sending his first tweet Wednesday morning.
Enlarge
Pope Benedict XVI, pictured during his weekly general audience on November 7, 2012 at St Peter's square at the Vatican, has begun tweeting from his new Twitter handle. (ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP/Getty Images)
Pope Benedict XVI sent his first tweet from his personal Twitter handle, @Pontifex, Wednesday morning. Watch out, Lady Gaga.
"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," the Pope's inaugural tweet read.
He also tweeted the same message in Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, Polish, Arabic and French, NBC News reported.
Benedict had amassed one million followers before even lifting his finger to tweet from his personal account, which was introduced during a ceremony at the Vatican.
More from GlobalPost: @pontifex, Pope Benedict's new Twitter handle
Secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications Monsignor Paul Tighe, speaking on Vatican Radio, called the event "an extraordinary moment," according to UPI.
The first papal tweet was retweeted more than 2,000 times in less than two minutes — a rate that could make even Twitter's most popular user Lady Gaga jealous.
Pope Benedict XVI may be harboring a Twitter addiction: he tweeted four more times after his first blast, and answered questions from users later in the day, the Associated Press reported.
Here, his latest tweets:
How can we celebrate the Year of Faith better in our daily lives?
— Benedict XVI (@Pontifex) December 12, 2012
By speaking with Jesus in prayer, listening to what he tells you in the Gospel and looking for him in those in need
— Benedict XVI (@Pontifex) December 12, 2012
How can faith in Jesus be lived in a world without hope?
— Benedict XVI (@Pontifex) December 12, 2012
We can be certain that a believer is never alone. God is the solid rock upon which we build our lives and his love is always faithful
— Benedict XVI (@Pontifex) December 12, 2012
The Pope is no Twitter newbie, however: In the past he's tweeted from Vatican's English-language Twitter account, @news_va_en.
More from GlobalPost: First papal tweet, short and sweet, attracts 20,000 followers (VIDEO)
http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/culture-lifestyle/world-religion/121212/pope-first-tweet-personal-handle-pontifex
.
-
Photo
Jaume Plensa's "Tel Aviv Man" at Art Basel, the world’s premier trade fair for leading galleries and collectors focused on modern and contemporary art.
- [/] -
Photo
The front of the Art Basel building. This year’s show attracted 303 of the world’s top galleries from 36 countries, showing the works of more than 2,500 artists. It drew more than 62,000 visitors, a new record.
- [/] -
Photo
Platform Gallery's Chen Wei and one of his "Recovery Room" series at Liste Young Artist's show. By the time the week was over he had sold more than 10 works, with prices ranging from $1,800 to nearly $3,000.
- [/] -
Photo
A performance spectator admires some of the pieces at Basel Art.
- [/] -
Photo
A performance piece at Basel Scope, done by an unidentified nearly naked man who moved in slow motion up and down the aisles dressed like a Greek version of Mars, the god of war.
- [/] -
Photo
A performance piece at Scope. The man clutched a staff, on which a plastic container for motor oil with the BP logo was impaled.
- [/] -
Photo
An installation piece at Basel Art.
- [/] -
Photo
An installation piece with paper tubes at Basel Art.
- [/] -
Photo
A gallery scene at the Scope Basel show.
- [/] -
Photo
A sculpture of Sperone Westwater Gallery's employee, Michael Short, by Evan Penny.
- [/] -
Photo
Evan Penny's sculpture of Michael Short.
- [/] -
Photo
A woman views Jaume Plensa's "Tel Aviv Man," (Study) 2010, Galerie Lelong, Paris.
- [/] -
Photo
"Medusa marinara," 1997 — a photographic representation of the Medusa in spaghetti and tomato sauce by New York-based Brazilian artist, Vic Muniz.
- [/] -
Photo
Children play around Ai Weiwei's piece, "Field," 2010.
- [/] -
Photo
Heimo Sobernig's "Black Cube" sits on display outside outside.
- [/] -
Photo
A piece by Yayoi Kusama titled "Pumkin."
- [/]
Follow us: