'Peace be with you all': Pope Leo XIV shares first post in Instagram debut

Pope Leo XIV made his Instagram debut with photos from his early papacy, quoting his Urbi et Orbi message: 'Peace be with you all,' continuing the Church's digital outreach

Pope Leo XIV made his debut on Instagram on Tuesday, sharing photos from his early days as pontiff. In his first post, he quoted from his Urbi et Orbi blessing delivered after his election on May 8, writing: “Peace be with you all!” 

“This is the first greeting spoken by the Risen Christ, the Good Shepherd,” he wrote. “I would like this greeting of peace to resound in your hearts, in your families, and among all people, wherever they may be, in every nation and throughout the world.”

According to a press statement issued Tuesday by the Dicastery for Communication, Pope Leo XIV intends to maintain an active digital presence through the Vatican’s official accounts on Instagram and X.

 

 

The move continues a trend set by Pope Francis, who regularly used social media to share short, spiritually themed messages and visuals from papal events. His posts often touched on themes of peace, justice, and care for the environment. 

“Pope Francis’ messages provided near-daily accompaniment throughout his pontificate with short messages of an evangelical nature and exhortations in favor of peace, social justice, and care for creation,” the Dicastery stated. 

To preserve this legacy, posts from Pope Francis will be archived in a dedicated section of the Holy See's official website.

The Vatican’s foray into social media began with Pope Benedict XVI, who made history as the first pontiff to send a tweet on December 12, 2012.     

 

Pope Leo XIV

Pope Leo XIV, born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, is the first American to ascend to the papacy. Despite his US origins, he is closely associated with Latin America due to his long missionary service in Peru.   

   The 69-year-old pontiff revealed that he chose his papal name with assistance from artificial intelligence, drawing inspiration from Pope Leo XIII. The 19th-century pope is remembered for his landmark encyclical ‘Rerum Novarum’, which addressed workers’ rights during the industrial revolution.

 

“I chose to take the name Leo XIV. There are different reasons for this, but mainly because Pope Leo XIII in his historic Encyclical ‘Rerum Novarum’ addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution,” Pope Leo XIV explained, according to a Vatican transcript.     

 

  He also likened the rise of AI to a modern industrial revolution and acknowledged its complex implications. “In our own day, the church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defence of human dignity, justice and labour,” he said.

 

 [With agency inputs]