GABRIEL BOUYS via Getty Images
ローマ・カトリック教会のフランシスコ法王が3月19日、写真共有アプリInstagramに公式アカウントを開設した。フォロワー（読者）の数は、20日までに2万人近くに達している。法王はこの日、就任3年を迎えた。
最初の1枚は目を閉じて祈る法王の姿が投稿された。
フランシスコ法王は、Twitterなどソーシャルメディアを積極的に活用している。アルゼンチン出身で中南米から選ばれた初の法王。親しみやすい人柄で人気が高く、世界的に大きな影響力を持つ。CNNは次のように伝えた。
法王は２月末にインスタグラムのケビン・シストロム最高経営責任者（ＣＥＯ）と面会し、「画像には文化や言語の異なる人々を結びつける力がある」と語り合った。法王がインスタグラムに加わる可能性も話題に上っていたという。
（CNN.co.jp : ローマ法王、インスタグラムに初投稿 １時間でフォロワー１０万人より 2016/03/20 11:45）
【関連記事】
ハフィントンポスト日本版はTwitterでも情報発信しています。@HuffPostJapan をフォロー
関連記事
バチカンの中はこんな感じ
(01 of10)
This picture made available Tuesday, March 12, 2013 by the Vatican newspaper L\'Osservatore Romano shows where the cardinals will be sitting inside the Sistine Chapel during the conclave voting, at the Vatican. Cardinals enter the Sistine Chapel on Tuesday to elect the next pope amid more upheaval and uncertainty than the Catholic Church has seen in decades: There\'s no front-runner, no indication how long voting will last and no sense that a single man has what it takes to fix the many problems. (AP Photo/L\'Osservatore Romano, ho) (credit:AP)
(02 of10)
ADDS NAME OF PAINTING ON CEILING. This picture made available Tuesday, March 12, 2013 by the Vatican newspaper L\'Osservatore Romano shows Italian Renaissance painter Michaelangelo\'s \"Last Judgement\" fresco on the background wall and the section of the \"Creation of Adam\" on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel above the seating arrangement of the cardinals for the conclave, at the Vatican. Cardinals enter the Sistine Chapel on Tuesday to elect the next pope amid more upheaval and uncertainty than the Catholic Church has seen in decades: There\'s no front-runner, no indication how long voting will last and no sense that a single man has what it takes to fix the many problems. (AP Photo/L\'Osservatore Romano, ho) (credit:AP)
(03 of10)
This picture made available Tuesday, March 12, 2013 by the Vatican newspaper L\'Osservatore Romano shows the Sistine Chapel set up for the beginning of the conclave, at the Vatican. Cardinals enter the Sistine Chapel on Tuesday to elect the next pope amid more upheaval and uncertainty than the Catholic Church has seen in decades: There\'s no front-runner, no indication how long voting will last and no sense that a single man has what it takes to fix the many problems. (AP Photo/L\'Osservatore Romano, ho) (credit:AP)
(04 of10)
This picture made available Tuesday, March 12, 2013 by the Vatican newspaper L\'Osservatore Romano shows where the cardinals will be sitting inside the Sistine Chapel during the conclave voting, at the Vatican. Cardinals enter the Sistine Chapel on Tuesday to elect the next pope amid more upheaval and uncertainty than the Catholic Church has seen in decades: There\'s no front-runner, no indication how long voting will last and no sense that a single man has what it takes to fix the many problems. (AP Photo/L\'Osservatore Romano, ho) (credit:AP)
(05 of10)
This picture made available Tuesday, March 12, 2013 by the Vatican newspaper L\'Osservatore Romano shows the three sizes of the pope\'s garments and shoe boxes in a room next to the Sistine Chapel, seen through the door at right, at the Vatican. Cardinals enter the Sistine Chapel on Tuesday to elect the next pope amid more upheaval and uncertainty than the Catholic Church has seen in decades: There\'s no front-runner, no indication how long voting will last and no sense that a single man has what it takes to fix the many problems. The three identical white outfits in small, medium and large for the new pontiff\'s first appearance on the balcony of St. Peter\'s Basilica are delivered to the Vatican before the start of the conclave and left in a room next to the Sistine Chapel, where the newly elected pope changes into his new clothes. (AP Photo/L\'Osservatore Romano, ho) (credit:AP)
(06 of10)
St. Peter\'s Basilica is seen in the background as homeless people sleep near St. Peter\'s Square in Vatican, early Tuesday, March 12, 2013. Cardinals enter the Sistine Chapel on Tuesday to elect the next pope amid more upheaval and uncertainty than the Catholic Church has seen in decades: There\'s no front-runner, no indication how long voting will last and no sense that a single man has what it takes to fix the many problems. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky) (credit:AP)
(07 of10)
This picture made available Tuesday, March 12, 2013 by the Vatican newspaper L\'Osservatore Romano shows the three sizes of the pope\'s garments in a room next to the Sistine Chapel, at the Vatican. Cardinals enter the Sistine Chapel on Tuesday to elect the next pope amid more upheaval and uncertainty than the Catholic Church has seen in decades: There\'s no front-runner, no indication how long voting will last and no sense that a single man has what it takes to fix the many problems. The three identical white outfits in small, medium and large for the new pontiff\'s first appearance on the balcony of St. Peter\'s Basilica are delivered to the Vatican before the start of the conclave and left in a room next to the Sistine Chapel, where the newly elected pope changes into his new clothes. (AP Photo/L\'Osservatore Romano, ho) (credit:AP)
(08 of10)
This picture made available Tuesday, March 12, 2013 by the Vatican newspaper L\'Osservatore Romano shows the urns where each cardinal will place his folded ballot after voting inside the Sistine Chapel during the conclave at the Vatican. During the voting that ensues, each cardinal writes his choice on a rectangular piece of paper inscribed with the words \"Eligo in summen pontificem\" Latin for \"I elect as Supreme Pontiff.\" Holding the folded ballot up in the air, each approaches the altar and places it on a saucer, before tipping it into an oval urn, as he intones these words: \"I call as my witness, Christ the Lord, who will be my judge that my vote is given to the one who, before God, I think should be elected.\" Cardinals enter the Sistine Chapel on Tuesday to elect the next pope amid more upheaval and uncertainty than the Catholic Church has seen in decades: There\'s no front-runner, no indication how long voting will last and no sense that a single man has what it takes to fix the many problems. (AP Photo/L\'Osservatore Romano, ho) (credit:AP)
Haydee Jesus(09 of10)
Sister Haydee Jesus prays during a special prayer vigil at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, Monday, March 11, 2013. The church will remain open until Tuesday morning for the special prayer vigil as cardinals gather in Rome to elect the new Pope. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) (credit:AP)
(10 of10)
Faithful are seen in St. Peter\'s Square, at the Vatican, Monday, March 11, 2013. Cardinals have gathered for their final day of talks before the conclave to elect the next pope amid debate over whether the Catholic Church needs a manager pope to clean up the Vatican\'s messy bureaucracy or a pastoral pope who can inspire the faithful and make Catholicism relevant again. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti) (credit:AP)