Pope Leo XIV made his debut on social media Tuesday, sharing a message of peace as part of an effort to maintain a consistent presence on the official papal accounts.

According to a press release from the Dicastery for Communication, the Pope intends “to maintain an active social media presence through the official papal accounts on X and Instagram.”

In his initial post since assuming control of the Vatican’s official Instagram and X accounts, he echoed the words he first spoke to the world upon becoming pope.

“Peace be with you all!” he wrote in his Instagram post.

The post included photos from his first days as the new pope, succeeding his predecessor, who passed away last month at the age of 88.

“This is the first greeting spoken by the Risen Christ, the Good Shepherd,” the Instagram post stated. “I would like this greeting of peace to resonate in your hearts, in your families, and among all people, wherever they may be, in every nation and throughout the world.”

The Vatican announced that it is archiving posts from Francis’ 12-year papacy. As of Wednesday morning, the new X account appeared to be inactive.

Previously, popes did not personally publish social media posts; instead, the Vatican curated them.

Before his election as pope, the former Cardinal Robert Prevost occasionally posted on an X account created in 2011. It had been dormant since July 2023 until he recently returned to the platform to criticize the Trump administration’s immigration policies and comments made by the Vice President, who had also clashed with Francis during his final months regarding the administration’s immigration agenda, including a mass deportation plan.

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