Pope Francis' New Instagram Account Already Has Over 750,000 Followers

Impact

Pope Francis has already acquired over 750,000 followers mere hours after registering an official papal Instagram account, and is well on his way to breaking a million before the end of the day.

Francis' account, which uses the handle "Franciscus," currently has two photos, both of the pontiff praying.

Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom commemorated the pontiff's first Instagram with one of his own, writing "Watching Pope Francis post his first photo to Instagram today was an incredible moment. @franciscus, welcome to the Instagram community! Your messages of humility, compassion and mercy will leave a lasting mark."

As CNN Money notes, Instagram is growing quickly in a number of predominantly Catholic countries, including "Mexico, France, Italy and Brazil."

Since the pope joined Twitter using the handle @pontifex, he has picked up an astonishing 8.9 million followers.