<p>Pope Francis' online flock has doubled from 2.5 million to 5.0 million Twitter followers in just seven weeks -- nearly half the time it took his predecessor Benedict XVI to build up his following.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The account @pontifex -- the word "pope" in Latin -- has tweets in nine languages including English, Spanish, Arabic and Latin. They are snippets of religious instruction rather than insights into the pontiff's daily life.<br /><br />The number on all nine accounts put together went over five million for the first time today.<br /><br />The comments on the tweets left by followers are often irreverent and chatty, with one user asking the pope on today: "How you settling in?"<br /><br />Benedict launched the account on December 12 after encouraging Catholic Church leaders to use social media to reach a wider and more youthful audience.<br /><br />The Vatican has said the tweets are approved by the pope although not actually written by him and are sent from a single computer to avoid hacking.<br /><br />Francis' latest tweet today reads: "God loves us. We must not be afraid to love him." His first tweet a few days after his election read: "I thank you from my heart and I ask you to continue to pray for me."<br /><br />The pope has shown a tradition-breaking style in his first few weeks in office and has said he wants the Church to be closer to ordinary people.<br /><br />The number of followers on the Spanish-language account of Latin America's first pope has risen particularly sharply to 1.6 million, although the Argentinian was still trailing in Portuguese with 188,000 followers.</p>
<p>Pope Francis' online flock has doubled from 2.5 million to 5.0 million Twitter followers in just seven weeks -- nearly half the time it took his predecessor Benedict XVI to build up his following.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The account @pontifex -- the word "pope" in Latin -- has tweets in nine languages including English, Spanish, Arabic and Latin. They are snippets of religious instruction rather than insights into the pontiff's daily life.<br /><br />The number on all nine accounts put together went over five million for the first time today.<br /><br />The comments on the tweets left by followers are often irreverent and chatty, with one user asking the pope on today: "How you settling in?"<br /><br />Benedict launched the account on December 12 after encouraging Catholic Church leaders to use social media to reach a wider and more youthful audience.<br /><br />The Vatican has said the tweets are approved by the pope although not actually written by him and are sent from a single computer to avoid hacking.<br /><br />Francis' latest tweet today reads: "God loves us. We must not be afraid to love him." His first tweet a few days after his election read: "I thank you from my heart and I ask you to continue to pray for me."<br /><br />The pope has shown a tradition-breaking style in his first few weeks in office and has said he wants the Church to be closer to ordinary people.<br /><br />The number of followers on the Spanish-language account of Latin America's first pope has risen particularly sharply to 1.6 million, although the Argentinian was still trailing in Portuguese with 188,000 followers.</p>