As Pope Benedict XVI stepped down from his papal position, his Twitter account was put on hold. Yes, the Pope has a Twitter account.
Pope Benedict XVI was the first pope to hold a Twitter account. Once he resigned and in the time it took to choose a new pope, the Twitter account Pope Benedict XVI tweeted from was preserved in an archive but not deleted permanently. The account name states “Sede Vacante,” which translates as “the seat being vacant.”
The pope accumulated 1.6 million followers since the account was launched in December. Those followers will be passed on to the new pope.
Pope Benedict XVI also maintained a Facebook account.
There is a bogus account on Twitter for the cardinal. The account tweets in Spanish and boasts how happy Pope Francis is about his new position. The new pope is not associated with the account, as followers can tell by the language used in the tweets.
The account, “@JMBergoglio,” collected tens of thousands of followers in a few minutes time. At first glance, the account seems authentic, causing an Internet sensation over the confusion of the accounts.
Twitter users have not only set up the @JMBergoglio account but a few others as well.
So, yes, the pope does have a Twitter account – yet followers need to be careful when wanting to follow the correct one. The actual account is set up “@Pontifex.”
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