On December 3rd, it was announced that Pope Benedict XVI will have a Twitter account, using the handle @ponifex.

His first tweet, sent at approximately 2pm yesterday, was in English:

“Dear Friends,”he tweeted, “I am pleased to get in touch with you through Twitter.  Thank you for your generous response.  I bless all of you from my heart.”

His first tweet was retweeted over 30,000 times and his number of followers is rapidly increasing; there is speculation that he will soon trump Justin Bieber in having the most Twitter followers.

The pope is set to tweet weekly in several languages top reach the widest audience possible.  Questions can be asked directly by tweeting with the hashtag #askpontifex.  Since the birth of his Twitter account, the Pope has received tens of thousands of inquiries regarding poverty, gay marriage, and other contemporary issues.

Benedict XVI’s Twitter is an exciting and clear indication that the Vatican is making a long-awaited adjustment to communicating through social media.