Pope’s IG Account
By Staff Writer, écoute moi
People visit Rome for food, culture, vacations, sightseeing but Kevin Systrom, Instagram’s cofounder and former CEO had another reason for his visit to Vatican City. He said in a recent interview that he visited Rome twice in 2016. First to present the Pope, the most powerful figure in the Catholic Church the idea of joining Instagram. He personally helped Pope Francis to sign up for the photo-sharing service. Systrom said “I explained why, no matter who you are, if you have something to say, Instagram’s the place to do it,” Systrom said. ‘Well, my team will look at this and give me their decision. But they’re not in charge, because everyone has a boss.’ He pointed at himself. He said, ‘Even I have a boss,’ and he pointed up in the sky.”
Within a few weeks, Kevin Systrom, Instagram’s cofounder and former CEO received a call from the Vatican saying that they agree with him and that pope should have an Instagram account and asked the cofounder to set it up for him. Systrom explained that it was simple to sign up and to do that he just needs to fill the form and click on signup, but Instagram’s chief operating officer Marne Levine at the time insisted he had to fly back to Rome to do it for him.
Pope’s IG Account
“We had just flown in. We were bleary-eyed. He walked in, and he turned the corner, and he goes, ‘Kevin!’ It was like seeing an old friend from your basketball team or something,” Systrom said about the second visit. “We had an iPad, and it was all set up. The name was filled out. So, literally, all he had to do was click sign up.”
“It was such a fun moment for me, just his humility and friendliness throughout the whole process was pretty awesome,” said Systrom.
Since then, it’s safe to say Pope Francis has been thriving on Instagram. In three years, he’s managed to rack up an impressive 6.3 million followers, almost 800 posts (all of which are very insta-worthy), and two highlights. He’s also received that highly sought-after verification badge.
Under the username @franciscus, the Pope’s Instagram account posted its first photo in March 2016. Instagram was a logical next social media step in 2016 for Pope Francis, whose predecessor (Pope Benedict) was responsible for launching a Twitter account. So, if you haven’t already, don’t forget to hit that follow button: @franciscus.