December 12, 2012. (Romereports.com) It's a done deal. Benedict XVI is officially on Twitter under @Pontifex. In his first tweet, he says, 'I'm pleased to get in touch with you through Twitter. Thank you for your generous response. I bless all of you from my heart.' He has a total of eight accounts in different languages. Just moments after his first tweet, he had over a million followers.


In just minutes, his first tweet was 'retweeted' by more than 20,000 people. Of those, about 11,000 in English and about 4,000 in Spanish.

A group of young people accompanied the Pope during this historic moment, which also falls on the day of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

KATIA LÓPEZ HODOYÁN
Journalist
“It was really a once in a lifetime opportunity. From the moment I was invited, I knew it was something unique and a great honor. To be able to represent Mexico, where Our Lady of Guadalupe is really our Patroness. I was just very proud to take part.”

The Pope didn't waste any time. He began
responding to questions submitted under the hashtag # askpontifex. One of those questions was: “How can we celebrate the Year of Faith better in our daily lives?” The Pope responded saying, “By speaking with Jesus in prayer, listening to what he tells you in the Gospel and looking for Him in those in need.”  

Back on December 3rd, when the Vatican's Press Office announced the Pope's new Twitter account, organizers said the main goal is for Catholics to use the internet not just for work, but also to reflect on their faith.

MSGR. PAUL TIGHE
Secretary, Pontifical Council for Social Communications (December 3, 2012)
“Every tweet that comes out will have been personally seen and approved by the Pope. It's a closer level of engagement. Each tweet will in a sense maybe coming from an audience.”

Without a doubt, it's a day that will go down in history. A day when  the Pope, surrounded  by a group of young people, took a major step to welcome the digital age.


OFL @ odelafu /KLH
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JM
-BN