7 social media tips for the new Pontiff, Pope Francis

The Vatican has a new boss. The papal conclave has chosen a new Pope and the Catholic church can breathe a sigh of relief because it is no longer leaderless.

Benedict was just getting into Twitter when he stepped down as the Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church. Being the Pope is hard work and being the Pope on social media is doubly hard.

Pope Francis has already proven that he will not just be another Pope, as evidenced by the fact that he chose an unprecedented name that has never been used before. From St. Francis of Assisi, this name means a rebirth and “rebuilding the Catholic Church”.

So, as we offer our congratulations to the new Pope, we thought we give him some social media tips.

Tweet in a dead language

Tweeting in a dead language may not sound cool to you young and hip ones, but for the leader of the Catholic Church this is good move. Remind your followers (pun intended) that Latin and Aramaic are still part of the religion. So send some tweets out in a dead language every now again for some good nostalgia. Also engage with the people more — it’s nice for them to know you’re listening and care.

Host Easter Homilies on Google Hangout

This one might sound scary but what better way to get more people interested in Homilies than to know that it is delivered by the leader of the church himself? Gathering all your followers (pun not intended this time) to watch you deliver your first Easter Homily as the Bishop of Rome will show that you embrace technology and are taking the word to wherever the people are. Think about it.

Instagrams from St Peter’s Square

Anyone that has made their way to Rome will tell you that St Peter’s Square is a beauty to behold. An architectural marvel and a monument that speaks to the city’s ancient splendour. The world needs weekly if not daily snaps from it. So his holiness updating the world and letting us sigh at some of the breathing-taking beauties it has to offer with a well-chosen filter would be a big win.

Do not underestimate Pinterest

Contrary to popular belief, this pretty scrapbooking platform isn’t just for planning a wedding. Seeing as the you will be moving into a newer and bigger home, it might be a good idea for you to start collecting some ideas for the new pad. Perhaps you will want to jazz up your bedroom or the hallways or spice things up in that great hall of yours. Pinterest could be very good for this.

Check into the Vatican on Foursquare

Most people use Foursquare just to show off where in the world they are. It would be nice if they checked in on Foursquare every now and again, just so people knew they showed up at work today. It will put the people of the Vatican City’s minds at ease knowing that their sovereign is around if they need him for some moral quandary.

The thing about Facebook

There is a difference between a page, a group and your personal profile. This is important. His holiness should not share his personal snaps of whatever on the official page or group of the Vicar of Jesus Christ. The social media storm that will follow will be of epic proportions. So be careful here, because unlike Twitter, Instagram and Foursquare, this network is more for friends but there are official responsibilities too.

Stumbleupon — help people discover the Vatican

Yes the Vatican doesn’t really need any help getting “discovered” but perhaps you can suggest some new interesting not run of the mill activities for visitors by stumbling some cool stuff. This one might be a tad tricky for the pope as he’s properly never heard of Stumbleupon but it is all right. He can just read this nifty article that tells you everything you need to know about the discovery platform.

Image: Aibdescalzo (via Wikimedia Commons).