Popular on Twitter, Pope Francis now has Instagram account

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Saturday, March 19, 2016
Pope Francis waves to faithful as he arrives for his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican on Sept. 30, 2015.
Maurizio Brambatti/ANSA via AP-AP

VATICAN CITY -- Pope Francis is expanding his presence on social media with an Instagram account.



The pontiff, who has more than 26 million followers on Twitter, made his debut Saturday on Instagram, a photo-sharing site.





On the eve of the launch, a Vatican communications official, Monsignor Dario Vigano, told Vatican Radio that the pope believes images can reveal many things. Vigano also said that the Instagram account will allow people to share the pope's "gestures of tenderness and mercy."



The pope's account will use the name Franciscus, his name in Latin.



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