The humble acts of kindness and warm, welcoming personality of Pope Francis had people talking about him since he began his papacy in March 2013 and this is most notable online, where Catholics and non-Catholics alike share their experiences, thoughts and news about the pontiff. And, what seems to be apparent for some time, has finally been confirmed when Facebook released its list of top global trends for the year 2013 and Pope Francis topped that list.
Facebook has released its "2013 Year in Review," which revealed the global trends for the year and included the list of people, moments and places most talked about by the social network's 1.2 billion users.
Pope Francis is the most mentioned person on Facebook in 2013, topping the list of most talked about topics worldwide. He is followed by "Election" and "Royal Baby" and while he didn't make it to the top of the most talked about topics in the U.S, Pope Francis still made it in the top ten at number 6.
Here is the most mentioned people and events on Facebook for the year 2013:
1. Pope Francis
2. Election
3. Royal Baby
4. Typhoon
5. Margaret Thatcher
6. Harlem Shake
7. Miley Cyrus
8. Boston Marathon
9. Tour de France
10. Nelson Mandela
Meanwhile, "Super Bowl" topped the most trending topics in the United States, followed by "Government shutdown" and "Boston Marathon".
Here is the list of the ten most mentioned people and events in the United States in 2013:
1. Super Bowl
2. Government Shutdown
3. Boston Marathon
4. Syria Crisis
5. Harlem Shake
6. Pope Francis
7. George Zimmerman
8. Royal Baby
9. Nelson Mandela
10. Presidential Inauguration
Facebook isn't the only social network dominated by Pope Francis. A survey conducted by Twiplomacy in July this year named the pontiff the most influential world leader on Twitter. His @Pontifex account gets an average of 8,200 retweets for each English tweet while President Obama's account gets an average of only 2,300 retweets. A Global Language Monitor survey also revealed the Pope Francis is the most talked about person in the internet for the year 2013.
Here are a few samples of what Pope Francis tweets about -
If we see someone who needs help, do we stop? There is so much suffering and poverty, and a great need for good Samaritans.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) December 9, 2013
Holiness doesn’t mean doing extraordinary things, but doing ordinary things with love and faith. — Pope Francis (@Pontifex) December 5, 2013
It is hard to forgive others. Lord, grant us your mercy, so that we can always forgive.
— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) November 29, 2013
