Leo XIV to continue the digital outreach of Pope Francis.

Pope Leo XIV is to maintain an active presence on social media, continuing the digital outreach of his predecessors Francis and Benedict XVI, the Vatican confirmed on Tuesday.

The @Pontifex account on X (formerly Twitter) will remain the official papal voice, however messages shared by Francis during his 12-year pontificate will be archived on the Vatican website.

Launched on Twitter in 2012 by Benedict XVI, the @Pontifex account has amassed 52 million followers and communicates in nine languages: English, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Polish, Arabic and Latin.

On Instagram, Pope Leo XIV will use the account @Pontifex — Pope Leo XIV, continuing the legacy of Francis' @Franciscus account - set up in 2016 - whose content will remain accessible as an 'Ad Memoriam' archive.

The new pope's first Instagram post on Tuesday read: "Peace be with you all! This is the first greeting spoken by the Risen Christ, the Good Shepherd. I would like this greeting of peace to resound in your hearts, in your families, and among all people, wherever they may be, in every nation and throughout the world."

Prior to his election as Pope Leo XIV, the Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Prevost was already active on X.

He shared numerous posts opposed to moves aimed at restricting acceptance of migrants and refugees in the US, as well as calling for the end of the death penalty and showing support for gun control.

In early February, he shared a National Catholic Reporter article with the headline, “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”

Pope Francis posted around 50,000 times on both social media platforms during his pontificate, with his online content viewed more than 27 billion times in 2020 alone, the Vatican said.

In his final post on X on Easter Sunday, the day before he died, Pope Francis wrote: "Christ is risen! These words capture the entire meaning of our existence, for we were not made for death but for life."

Photo credit: Rokas Tenys / Shutterstock.com.