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| St. Peter's Square |
Pope Francis claimed the Internet to be “a gift from God” in a statement
released last Thursday saying, “The Internet, in particular, offers immense
possibilities for encounter and solidarity. This is something truly good,
a gift from God.” Pope Francis should know best. Take just one glance at his
Arabic Twitter account and you’ll see his Internet game is off the charts. On
his English account, he has over 3 million followers, and on his Spanish
account he has over 4 million followers. On top of all that, he is responsible for
taking the first Papal selfie in August of this year, proving himself to be the
trillest (truest, realest) Pope to date.
Pope Francis is no typical pope. According to the Telegraph, Pope Francis once had a girlfriend but became a priest
after she turned down his marriage proposal. He even earned money as a bouncer
for a Buenos Aires bar while attending college. In June, he was presented with
a Harley-Davidson motorcycle which he is currently auctioning off in Paris to
fund church-run charities in Rome. Despite having access to the papal luxuries,
Pope Francis chooses to live on his own, makes his own meals, and before
becoming Pope, he travelled using public transportation.
Staying out of the public eye is nearly impossible for Pope Francis
because just this week he caught the attention of the media yet again after
blessing the parrot of male stripper Francesco Lombardi while touring the
Vatican. On the event, Lombardi told the Agenzia Nazionale Stampa Associata
Soc. Coop. (ANSA), “It was fun, a sort of mixing of the holy and the profane.”
Lombardi reveals that Pope Francis called his bird "a beautiful gift from
God.”
The Pope also garnered attention this year for suspending Bishop of Limburg
Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, also known as the ‘Bishop of Bling’, after he
spent $42 million of church funds on his Limburg home. The Pope allegedly took
the residence from the Bishop and converted it into a soup kitchen.
St. Peter could never have imagined a future Pope one day taking a
selfie or having over three million followers on Twitter. No matter what he
does, Pope Francis manages to stay relevant and with the times. He is proving
himself to be a most relatable Pope.
