Pope to close Twitter account: Vatican Radio

After a high-profile launch on Dec. 12 under the name @pontifex, the pontiff's online musings quickly attracted over 1.5 million followers in English. Around a million other users of the site subscribe to his feeds in Italian, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, Polish, Arab and even Latin and a Chinese account had been planned.

“It seemed unimaginable one could continue to use a communication tool that is so popular and powerful during the Sede Vacante (Vacant Seat) period,” Vatican Radio said.

The leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics is expected to post his final tweet on Feb. 27, when he will bid a farewell to ordinary Catholics at a general audience in St. Peter's Square.

The account will then be closed on Feb. 28 when Benedict formally steps down as pope, according to Vatican Radio.

No clear favorite has emerged yet to succeed Benedict but several cardinals tipped as possible candidates, including American Timothy Dolan, Odilo Scherer from Brazil and Gianfranco Ravasi and Angelo Scola from Italy, are active Twitter users within the Church.

Benedict's bold move to become the first pope to join the Twittersphere sparked heated debate at the Vatican and within the Church. Supporters said it was a useful way to reach a younger generation, but some observers were dismayed to see that his pious posts invited a stream of mockery.

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