@Pontifex (The Pope) Tweets!

After a previous post about following Jesus on Twitter, the Pope has now joined Twitter - @Pontifex.

On December 12th 2012, Pope Benedict XI became the first Pope to use the popular social network. He hit the send button on his iPad to broadcast his first tweet, subsequent tweets will be organised by senior officials in the Vatican but using only the Pope's words and with his direction.

By Wednesday morning when the first tweet was sent, he had 1 million followers. The first tweet he sent contained exactly 140 characters: "Dear friends, I am pleased to get in touch with you through Twitter. Thank you for your generous response. I bless all of you from my heart."

Within hours the message had been retweeted more than 30,000 times, with more than 10,000 other users marking it as one of their favourites. 

Do you think it's a good idea for the Pope to be on Twitter? How will it help him communicate to people around the world? Is this a good idea for young people? Do you follow the Pope? 

Watch video here: