The Pope has begun his latest spiritual journey - on Instagram.

Using another form of social media, Twitter, to announce his arrival on the app, Pope Francis has accrued almost 1,00,000 followers in hours.

But the Roman Catholic spiritual leader has a long way to go if he hopes to eclipse singer Justin Bieber's 62 million followers.

Under the account name "franciscus", its bio reads: "I want to walk with you along the way of God's mercy and tenderness".

His first post shows the Pope in reflective prayer with the caption "Pray for me".

Instagram chief executive and co-founder Kevin Systrom was at the Vatican for the occasion and said: "Images transcend language and bring us all closer together.

"Pope Francis joins a global Instagram community who share a common passion for creativity and expression - his messages of humility and compassion will leave a lasting mark".