Pope To Launch New Twitter Account Next Week

Pope Benedict XVI will be launching a new Twitter account at his weekly general audience next week on Wednesday December 12.

The account goes live in eight languages to start with and the official name or handle for English language users is simply @pontifex (with #askpontifex if you want to send in a question of faith).

“In concise phrases, often no longer than a verse from the Bible, profound thoughts can be communicated – as long as those taking part in the conversation do not neglect to cultivate their own inner lives,” said Pope Benedict in this year’s Message for World Communications Day.

The Vatican said, now the Pope himself will be tweeting some of those concise phrases – less than 140 characters to be precise – to try and share the Good News of Christ with those seeking answers to life’s key questions on their computers, ipads, tablets or smartphones.

Prior to December 12, people can send questions to the Pope on issues of faith, some of which he’ll try and answer with his first tweets, the Vatican said.