“Peace with you!” Pope Leo XIV is shared on X and Instagram in his first official social media post.
Experts on the importance of the new Pope choose the name Leo XIV
Experts say the Pope’s name can provide clues about the values and priorities of the new Pope. What does choosing Leo XIV tell them?
Following the election of Pope Leo XIV’s sweeping of his personal accounts and taking a whole new meaning after creating his first official post this week.
Pope Leo XIV, elected on Thursday, May 8th, made his first social media post on Tuesday, May 13th. This post was made on the official Pontif Instagram and X account, shared in English, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, French, French, Polish and German. The Instagram post included some photos from the Pope’s first few days.
“I’m with you guys!” Leo wrote in his post. “This is the first greeting spoken by the Resurrected Christ, the Good Shepherd. I want this greeting of peace to echo in your heart, in your family, and in all peoples, wherever they are, in every country and in the world.”
According to a news release from DiCastery for Communication, Holy See’s communications division, Pope Leo XIV “chosen to maintain an active social media presence through X and the official pontifical accounts on Instagram.”
Pope Leo XIV deletes personal social media accounts
Shortly after he was nominated by Pontife, old social media posts of Pope Leo XIV began to surface. In particular, he criticized Vice President JD Vance’s stance on immigration in the X-Post starting in February.
“JD Vance is wrong. Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank love for others,” Leo wrote in the post, but it was deleted.
As of May 14th, Pope Leo XIV’s old social media accounts had been removed by his previous name, Robert Francis Prevast.
Speaking to USA Today on May 8th, Margaret Susan Thompson, a history professor at Syracuse University, was hoping that the bishop would switch the post to an official clergy account.
“I think he’ll use it sparingly, as social media can become a minefield of divisive commentary. It’s not controversial, perhaps due to a simple idyllic message (and yes, it will be delivered on the official Pope account),” Thompson said in an email.
As of May 14th, the official Instagram account boasted 9.6 million followers, while the X account had 10,800 followers.
Gretacross is a national trend reporter for USA Today. Story ideas? Please email her gcross@usatoday.com.
