Most people fly to Rome to see the sights,[EP05] Lovely Ladies Dormitory indulge in the food, and experience the culture. But in 2016, Instagram cofounder Kevin Systrom made the trip for other reasons: to set the Pope up with his very own IG handle (@franciscus).
Yep, you read that right.
In an interview with The Cut, Systrom discussed a lot of important things. Specifically, how Instagram has shaped our lives throughout the decade. Which is super interesting and all, but the best part of the interview was when he recalled personally signing Pope Francis up for an Instagram account.
It took some majordedication on Systrom's part. "I went to Vatican City twice. The first time was to present the idea. I explained why, no matter who you are, if you have something to say, Instagram’s the place to do it. [The Pope] said, 'Well, my team will look at this and give me their decision. But they’re not in charge, because everyone has a boss.' He pointed at himself. He said, 'Even I have a boss,' and he pointed up in the sky. I thought that was really funny," Systrom recalled in the interview.
And even after the Pope got approval from his team and the man upstairs, there was still more work to be done. "They called back, and they said, 'Can you come back to sign him up?'" Systrom recounts. "I was like, 'Well, you just fill out a form. It’s really easy. You just click.' My COO came over and elbowed me in the shoulder and was like, 'You get yourself to Rome.'”
After getting his butt on a plane, Systrom reunited with his ole' pal to help get His Holiness on the social media grid. Of course, he made sure that all Pope Francis had to do to make it official was press a button. If only everything in life were that easy.
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"It was such a fun moment for me, just his humility and friendliness throughout the whole process was pretty awesome," said Systrom. "We had an iPad, and it was all set up. The name was filled out. So, literally, all he had to do was click sign up."
Since then, it's safe to say Pope Francis has been thrivingon the gram. In three years, he's managed to rack up an impressive 6.3 million followers, almost 800 posts (all of which are very insta-worthy), and two highlights. He's also received that highly sought-after verification badge.
Let's just say he's serving up some very premium content. So, if you haven't already, don't forget to hit that follow button: @franciscus.
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