Thursday. 28.03.2024

The Vatican's media office said Friday it was investigating an incident in which Pope Francis' official Instagram account liked the picture of a scantily-clad Brazilian model.

"At least I'm going to heaven," model Natalia Garibotto quipped on Twitter, posting a video showing the Instagram like from the "franciscus" account.

The video was dated November 13.

The papal like - giving appreciation for an October 5 picture in which Garibotto showed off her backside, seemingly wearing no knickers - has since been removed.

"As far as we know, the 'like' does not come from the Holy See. We are examining the issue in close contact with the relevant Instagram office," the Vatican's media office said in a statement.

Francis' Instagram account was opened in March 2016, and had 7.4 million followers as of around 1 pm (1200 GMT) Friday.

When it was launched, the Vatican said the account was going to be managed by the social media department of the Secretariat of Communications.

Vatican investigating papal Instagram 'like' for racy Brazilian model