27 January 2016, The Tablet

#digitalrevolution: Pope Francis and the new social media savvy Vatican


Selfies, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube are now all key elements of the Holy See's evangelisation policy

 
When Pope Francis took the very first papal selfie with a group of teenagers less than six months into his pontificate, it was obvious he was going to be a very different kind of leader. The people's Pope, as he’s been nicknamed, was so keen to meet others on their level – or in this case online – that he eschewed protocol and embraced the platforms preferred by millennials, many of whom have become disaffected with religion. Fast-forward two and a half years and Pope Francis is meeting with the tech giants of Silicon Valley: Apple and Google. About what, no one yet knows, but if his forays into international diplomacy are anything to go by, we can expect some exciting developments in the coming months. The digital revolutio
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