Pope Francis opened his own Instagram account last weekend and, as of Tuesday morning, has already gained 1.6 million followers.
The Pope, who is using the username @Franciscus, Latin for Francis, had only made six posts by Tuesday morning including one video in which he said he wanted to “walk with you along the way of God’s mercy and tenderness”. Other posts showed images of the pope in various devotional attitudes.
The pope already has a Twitter account, @Pontifex, and it was on that account that he announced his new presence on Instagram.
A member of the pope’s communication team told the BBC the account would “help recount the papacy through images”.