Pope Francis Latin Twitter Feed Passes 100k Followers as Dead Language Lives On

By Myles Collier, Christian Post Contributor Thursday, June 20, 2013

Pope Francis' Latin Twitter account is becoming a growing hit and has now grown to more than 100,000 followers.

Latin is the official language of the Holy See and most recent figures show 112,795 followers which gives the Latin feed more followers than his Polish, German, and Arabic accounts.

"The surprise is that nerds are in all walks of life-cab drivers from South Africa, homemakers, journalists," a spokesman Vatican's Latin Office said in a statement.

The announcement comes shortly after the Pope announced that he was releasing a phone app to reach his followers around the world.

Pope Francis launched his MISSIO app the Friday before Pentecost Sunday for the Pontifical Mission Societies as a way to reach adoring followers.

"This App is a way for the Church and our Holy Father to reach the growing number of the world's people who have access to handheld mobile devices -- a way to connect as the one Body of Christ," Father Andrew Small, OMI, National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies, said in a press release. "We're delighted our new Holy Father will 'unlock' the new App. What a great use of the Keys of St. Peter!"

The launch occurred during an audience presentation with the Pope and the National Directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies.

"Handheld mobile devices and smartphones are increasingly democratizing the information superhighway, and have a capacity to empower the poor in particular," said Father Andrew. "In fact, by the end of 2013, there will be more mobile devices on earth than people. Smartphones worldwide exceed one billion, growing globally by some 40 percent a year, especially in the some of the poorest parts of the world served by the Pontifical Mission Societies, namely in Africa and Asia."