Announcing the launch of Vatican's new news portal, Pope Benedict XVI sent his first tweet via Apple iPad.

The post reads: Dear Friends, I just launched News.va Praised be our Lord Jesus Christ! With my prayers and blessings, Benedictus XVI.

Currently, the Vatican's twitter account, @news_va_en, has over 35,400 followers. The new portal brings together information from Vatican's print, online, radio and television media outlets. This includes the Vatican Radio, the newspaper l'Osservatore Romano and the Misna missionary news agency.

The event also marks the 60th anniversary of the ordination of Pope Benedict XVI.

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