The causal picture we see above was taken on a smartphone belonging to one of the youth inside St. Peter’s Basilica. The pope was in company of some youth from the Italian Diocese of Piacenza and Bobbio, the camera was held at arm’s length. So how can a photo go viral in this day and age? It was then posted on social media.
This comes shortly after the Oxford dictonary added the word “selfie” to mean a type of self-portrait photograph, typically taken with a hand-held digital camera or camera phone.
According to the telegraph, before the selfie shot around the world, the teens presented the pope with the gift of a wooden-framed illustration of Jesus wearing a crown of thorns.
The Pope has continued to defy Vatican Traditions since he was selected in March, he has made clear his intention to connect with young people, and to move the Papacy into a more modern, informal age and indeed he is sticking to this promise.
