Papal Tweets of Note

Last December, Pope Benedict XVI made history by becoming the first pope to tweet. After he stepped down earlier this year, the Vatican archived all of his tweets and a few weeks later Pope Francis took over the helm at the official pope handle, @Pontifex.

Unlike Pope Benedict, whose tweets were more sporadic, Pope Francis quickly settled into a pattern; he tweets once a day without fail — and rests on Sundays. He tweets about the same topics he speaks about: the importance of caring for those less fortunate than ourselves and what it means to live charitably.

Here’s a sampling.

If we see someone who needs help, do we stop? There is so much suffering and poverty, and a great need for good Samaritans.

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) December 9, 2013

Holiness doesn’t mean doing extraordinary things, but doing ordinary things with love and faith.

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) December 5, 2013

To live charitably means not looking out for our own interests, but carrying the burdens of the weakest and poorest among us.

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) November 25, 2013

If money and material things become the center of our lives, they seize us and make us slaves

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) October 29, 2013

Dear Followers I understand there are now over 10 million of you! I thank you with all my heart and ask you to continue praying for me

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) October 27, 2013

The “throw-away” culture produces many bitter fruits, from wasting food to isolating many elderly people.

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) October 25, 2013

Let us ask the Lord to give us the gentleness to look upon the poor with understanding and love, devoid of human calculation and fear.

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) September 24, 2013

True charity requires courage: let us overcome the fear of getting our hands dirty so as to help those in need.

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) September 21, 2013

There are many people in need in today’s world. Am I self-absorbed in my own concerns or am I aware of those who need help?

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) September 17, 2013

Seeking happiness in material things is a sure way of being unhappy.

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) September 15, 2013

The measure of the greatness of a society is found in the way it treats those most in need, those who have nothing apart from their poverty.

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) July 25, 2013