Pope Francis’ Instagram account ‘likes’ Brazilian model’s photo, Vatican launches probe

The Vatican has sought an explanation from Instagram on the incident, confirming that the 'like' did not come from the Holy See.

File image of Pope Francis | Wikimedia commons

New Delhi: Pope Francis, the spiritual head of the Catholic Church, found himself in the middle of a controversy after his official Instagram account ‘liked’ a photo of Brazilian model Natalia Garibotto.

According to a report in The Guardian, “It is unclear when the photo of Natalia Garibotto was given an endorsement by the pope’s verified account, but the “like” was still visible on 13 November before being unliked the next day.”

The Vatican is now seeking an explanation from Instagram on this, confirming that the ‘like’ did not come from their end.

The Catholic News Agency noted that an investigation into the incident is underway as the Pope’s social media accounts are managed by a team of people.

“We can exclude that the ‘like’ came from the Holy See, and it has turned to Instagram for explanations,” a Vatican spokesperson was quoted as saying Thursday.

Garibotto jokes about incident

While the incident is still being probed, Garibotto’s management company, COY Co, has been taking full advantage of the goof-up. It reposted the photograph, where the model is scantily clad, last Friday on Instagram with the caption — “received the POPE’S OFFICIAL BLESSING”.

Garibotto also joked about the incident in a tweet: “At least I’m going to heaven.”

The Pope has an expansive presence on social media with nearly 8 million followers on Instagram and nearly 19 million on Twitter.

While he himself occasionally vets tweets before they are posted, what is “liked” on Instagram and Twitter is entirely handled by the communications department.

Robert Mickens, Rome-based editor of the English-language edition of the Catholic daily newspaper La Croix said, “He (the Pope) does, for example, approve the tweets – but not the likes – and on very rare occasions he has said he would like to tweet something because of a developing situation or emergency. So he would have nothing to do with this – it’s the communications department, and how this happens … who knows.”