Pope Leo XIV makes first post on Instagram, resuming account begun by Francis

(WLUK) — The new pope has made his first Instagram post.

The post Tuesday on the official @pontifex account features 17 photos from Pope Leo XIV’s first few days as pontiff.

The lead photo features his first public address from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica last Thursday. The caption of the post features the beginning of his first Urbi et Orbi address from the balcony.

Other photos include his first Mass as pope, praying at the tomb of Pope Francis and his audience with journalists on Monday.

Leo is taking over the Instagram account begun by Pope Francis in 2016. According to the Vatican, the previous pope published around 50,000 total posts on social media platforms. An archive of Francis’ posts is available on Instagram.

Pope Benedict XVI was the first pope to have a social media account. He made his first post on Twitter (now X) on Dec. 12, 2012.