More than one hundred thousand people have paraded these days for the Vatican temple To say goodbye to the Argentine pontiff, including many tourists and curious who have sneaked into photographing for the last time to the most “viral” Pope in history.
In the last hours images of people who, after hours of waiting, take advantage of the few seconds that the Authorities allow to stop at the coffin To make one Authephoto next to Francisco’s body inside the coffin, and then publish them on social networks.
This has unleashed criticism from numerous faithful, who denounce the lack of respect and solemnity In a context of mourning.
“The moment lived with so many people loses intimacy; the queues, the speed, They blur that experience”, He lamented to Efe Pedro, who traveled a whole night by car from the Spanish town of Murcia to say goodbye to the Pope.
“Many come to take pictures that a pray”He added.
The closeness of Francisco With young people and their active digital presence, especially through the official @Pontifex account in X (formerly Twitter), they marked the style of a Pope who knew adapt to contemporary languages and tend bridges with the new generations.
While the account was inaugurated by Benedict XVI in December 2012, it was Francisco who turned that channel into a usual tool Communication with millions of faithful.
Photographs and videos generated with AI
Four days after his death and on the eve of the funeral that is expected for Saturday, April 21, on social networks they continue to regret their death with an avalanche of tributes, messages of love and contents that consolidate the Argentine pontiff as the most “viral” and photographed in history.
Now those same young people pay tribute from platforms like Tiktok and Instagram with emotional publications that collect their most remembered speeches and the iconic moments of his pontificate.
Even videos generated with artificial intelligence (AI) have been disseminated, in which it is seen reaching the sky, received by his predecessors John Paul II and Benedict XVIor even for Jesus, with whom he appears taking a picture “among the clouds.”
In the first 24 hours after the announcement of his death, more than 9.7 million content related to the Pope and about 200 million interactions in social networks were generated worldwide, according to an analysis of the Socialcom Platform for ADNKRONOS.
A figure that exceeded other events of great global impact, such as the attempt to murder of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, in 2024.
Very dear to the new generations, Francisco managed to connect with them thanks to their direct tone, their simple language and their positive gaze towards the use of social networks, which did not condemn or ignore during his pontificate, Efe said.