Vatican investigating how Pope's Instagram account 'liked' Brazilian model photo
The Vatican is looking into how Pope Francis' Instagram account liked a photo of a Brazilian model.
There has been no explanation how the image of Natalia Garibotto was originally 'liked' by the papal account, with the endorsement still visible up to November 13, when it was removed.
Alongside the photo of the model, who is dressed in a school uniform outfit and holding a copy of John Grisham's The Pelican Brief, Garibotto, is a caption which reads "I can teach you a thing or two".
Garibotto made the most of the 'like' when her management company reposted the photo on their own account with the message "received the POPE’S OFFICIAL BLESSING”.
It is reported that the model, who has 2.4m followers, quipped: “At least I’m going to heaven.”
The Vatican has launched an investigation into the matter.
The Pope has a team of people who manage his various social media accounts.
“We can exclude that the ‘like’ came from the Holy See, and it has turned to Instagram for explanations,” a Vatican spokesperson told the Guardian.
The Pope boasts 7.4m Instagram followers and 18.8m on Twitter.