Just in time for his posts to be sorted algorithmically, Pope Francis will join Instagram over the weekend. A spokesman told Vatican radio this week that the pope would post his debut photo Saturday under the handle "franciscus." The spokesman did not say whether the pope would focus on traditional Instagram subjects such as brunch, sunsets, selfies, #tbts, and dogs, or focus instead on more religious messages.
Pope Francis' Instagram will mark his second major US social media presence, after his Twitter account. (He has elected not to create an official Facebook page so far, saying in 2014 that he worried about the abuse that people were likely to post to the page.) His Twitter account, which has nearly 9 million followers, shares a variety of English-language religious messages, but very few photographs. Joining Instagram gives Pope Francis a chance to communicate with followers in a more visual way, on a platform that continues to grow steadily.
It is unclear whether the Pope is on #TeamFollowBack.