Pope Francis joins Instagram, immediately attracts 284,000 followers

VATICAN CITY, March 19 (UPI) -- Pope Francis joined Instagram on Saturday, amassing nearly 300,000 followers within hours of opening his account.

The popular pontiff's first post featured a photo of him kneeling, with his hands clasped and his eyes closed.

It is captioned, "Pray for me Rezad por mí Pregate per me صلوا من أجلي Priez pour moi Módlcie się za mnie Rezem por mim Betet für mich Orate pro me."

The leader of the Roman Catholic Church amassed 284,000 followers within the first few hours his account was open.

His profile reads, "I want to walk with you along the way of God's mercy and tenderness."