Vatican cardinal: Jesus was 'world's first tweeter'

Vatican cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi said that Jesus Christ’s pronouncement were “brief and full of meaning."

13:22 26 September 2013

The Vatican has claimed that Jesus Christ was the world’s first ever tweeter.

On Wednesday, Vatican cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi said Christ "used tweets before everyone else, with elementary phrases made up of fewer than 45 characters like 'Love one another.”

Speaking at a conference with Italy’s leading newspaper editors, he added: "A bit like in television today, he delivered a message through a story or a symbol.”

The cardinal, who himself is active on Twitter, also acknowledged the role of modern-day computer technology in spreading the word of God. He added: "If a cleric, a pastor is not interested in communication, they are defying their duty.”

The Vatican has made efforts to be more visible on the Internet for the past couple of years. This started under Benedict XVI and has continued under Pope Francis whose Twitter account has more than three million followers in English. He maintains other accounts in different languages and he tweets on a regular basis.