Pope Francis Busts A Record Previously held by David Beckham — A Million Instagram Followers In 12 Hours

Pope Francis’ new Instagram account hit one million followers within 12 hours of being launched on Saturday, breaking a record previously held by David Beckham.

The Pontiff’s account was launched with a photo of him — not a selfie — kneeling in prayer, asking followers to “pray for me” in 9 languages.

Il Crocifisso, è la “cattedra di Dio”. El Crucifijo, es la “catedra de Dios”. Le Crucifié ; c’est la « Chaire de Dieu ». O Crucificado: é «a cátedra de Deus». The Crucifix; it is the “royal seat of God”. Der Gekreuzigte ist der „Lehrstuhl Gottes“

A photo posted by Pope Francis (@franciscus) on Mar 20, 2016 at 12:21pm PDT

Pope Francis also broke the record for getting one million followers in record time, beating out David Beckham who reached a million in 24 hours.

The Pope’s Instagram handle is “Franciscus,” and while the account is separate from the official Vatican account, it will still be maintained by members of the Vatican. He also has a Twitter account maintained by others, according to CNN.

Inizio un nuovo cammino, per percorrere con voi la via della Misericordia e della tenerezza di Dio. Inicio un nuevo camino, para recorrer con ustedes el camino de la Misericordia y de la ternura de Dios. I want to walk with you along the way of God's Mercy and tenderness. Ich beginne einen neuen Weg, um mit euch den Weg der Barmherzigkeit und der Zärtlichkeit Gottes zu gehen. Je commence un nouveau chemin, pour parcourir avec vous la voie de la Miséricorde et de la tendresse de Dieu. Inicio um novo caminho, no Instagram, para percorrer com vocês a estrada da Misericórdia e da ternura de Deus.

A video posted by Pope Francis (@franciscus) on Mar 19, 2016 at 2:41pm PDT

The world was informed on Thursday that the Pope would join the ranks of millions of Instagram users. The news came a few weeks after Pope Francis met with Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom.

A photo posted by Pope Francis (@franciscus) on Mar 19, 2016 at 8:50am PDT

During their February meeting, the two reportedly discussed “the power of images to unite people across different cultures and languages.”

Pope Francis has set an Instagram record. https://t.co/606pkaqVPJ pic.twitter.com/4b6hIjCDR6

— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) March 20, 2016

As of this writing Pope Francis‘ Instagram account has 1.5 million followers. His inaugural post has received 186,000 likes.