New Pope 2013: Vatican Revives @Pontifex Twitter Account, Pope Francis Official Installation on March 19

When newly elected Pope Francis, previously known as Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina, holds his installation Mass on March 19, Tuesday, he will follow tradition and wear the papal vestments that his predecessors did. That includes the skull cap and the world famous red shoes.

It will be his first Mass as chief shepherd of 1.2 billion Roman Catholics around the world. The Mass will be held at the Sistine Chapel where he was elected on the fifth round of balloting, said Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi.

He is also adopting a new papal tradition started only by his immediate predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, that is to use social media, particularly send tweets.

One indicator that Pope Francis will join also become a tweetizen is that shortly after the "Habemus Papam" announcement, Vatican revived the @Pontifex Twitter account and sent the following tweet: "HABEMUS PAPAM FRANCISCUM."

That tweet led to 130,000 pope-related tweets per minute on Wednesday, March 14, while in Facebook, the conclave results were the top eight most-mentioned terms.

Among those who send congratulatory tweets were U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron.

A number of cardinals who were fellow cardinal electors also congratulated Pope Francis.

"I join my brother Cardinals in giving thanks to God for the election of Pope Francis I, the 266^th successor of St Peter and Vicar of Christ. The clergy, religious and laity of the Archdiocese of Boston celebrate this blessing for the Church," wrote Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley, one of the frontrunners in the just concluded conclave.

Unlike political contests where election results are often marred by doubts, the cardinals appear to be happy with the choice of pope. Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput said Pope Francis is a wonderful choice known for his extraordinary intellectual and cultural strengths.

Although the pope is Italian by blood, he was born and raised in Argentina, thus, the Philippine church said having a pope from a developing country is a welcome change in Europe-centric Vatican City.

"Let us thank God for the election of the new pope. It is a new beginning for all of us in our journey. We are happy because we have a pope who comes from a church in a developing country, (and) a pope who knows and has experienced the struggles of the people," said Fr Marvin Mejia, assistant secretary general of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines which counts another papabili, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, as one of its members.

Known for living a simple and humble life and even taking public transport, the election of the Argentinean cardinal sparked hope in Catholics that changes would be forthcoming in the Holy See.

"I hope he changes all the luxury that exists in the Vatican, that he steers the Church in a more humble direction, something closer to the gospel," Reuters quoted Jorge Andres Lobato, a retired Argentinean state prosecutor.