The Pope sent the first "tweet" with the help of the archbishop

Pope Benedict XVI announced on Twitter for the first time and blessed his 670.000 "followers" on the popular social network. The tweet caused a "chain reaction", so the number of people following the official account of the head of the Roman Catholic Church is increasing by the minute - @Pontifex.

Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli showed the Pope how to send a tweet

"Dear friends, I am glad to be able to contact you via Twitter as well. Thank you for your generous reactions. I send my blessings from the bottom of my heart," the pope said in the first Tweet, which was retweeted tens of thousands of times in the first few minutes.

By the way, the Pope's tweet came from a tablet, and according to Reuters, it seems that he did not manage it very well, because his colleagues had to come to his aid.

In a video shown on Vatican television, the pope is seen pressing his finger on a tablet to post a message in which he blesses followers, Reuters reported.

However, it looks like he pressed too hard and that's why the message didn't post right away.

In an effort to bring the Roman Catholic Church closer to the younger population, the traditional Vatican launched an information portal last year

His associates came to his aid - Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli showed the pope how to send the tweet, but Benedict still hesitated.

Celli then touched the screen himself, and the first message from the Pope reached Twitter.

Smartphone application - The Pope App

In total, more than a million people follow the Pope's tweets in English, Arabic, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese and Spanish.

In an effort to bring the Roman Catholic Church closer to the younger population, the traditional Vatican launched an information portal last year news.va.

The Vatican will also launch an application for the so-called smart mobile phones (The Pope App), which will allow users to follow the masses held by the Pope and the events in which he participates in real time, as well as to peek into the "forbidden" parts of the Vatican with the help of webcams.