Pope Francis’ Twitter account begins 2017 having 32 million followers. The Holy Father sends short messages through this system, like the one he wrote on Jan. 1, 2017: “Let us entrust the New Year to Mary, Mother of God, so that peace and mercy may grow throughout the world”; or his last of 2016: “As we end this year, let us remember the days, weeks and months we have lived in order to give thanks and offer everything to the Lord.”
The Spanish-speaking followers are the largest number of those registered, followed by the English-speaking. Among the curiosities, are that those who follow him in Latin, are no less than 735,000.
Here are the numbers:
Spanish: 12.5 million
English: 10.2 million
Italian: 4.1 million
Portuguese: 2.44 million
Polish: 751,000
Latin: 735,000
French: 717,000
German: 412,000
Arabic: 350,000
Pope Benedict XVI decided to open a Twitter account a few months before his renunciation. The Holy Father’s Twitter account was presented in the Holy See Press Office on December 3, 2012. Pope Francis took up the Pontifex account shortly after his election. “Dear friends, I thank you from my heart and ask you to continue praying for me,” was Francis’ first “tweet” on March 17, 2013.
