( CNN ) -- Assuming Pope Benedict XVI steps down as planned at the end of February , his tenure on Twitter will have been fleeting . The pope has been active on the social-media platform for only two months . During that time he has sent just 34 tweets -- 33 if you do n't count one that corrected a typo in a previous message . The spiritual leader of 1.2 billion Catholics stunned the world Monday with the news that he will resign February 28 `` because of advanced age . '' Most of the pope 's messages to his 1.5 million followers have promoted Catholic doctrine and teachings , although he has also occasionally commented on current events , condemning violence in Nigeria and Syria . One tweet asked followers for suggestions on how to be more prayerful when `` we are so busy with the demands of work , families and the world ? '' The first Catholic pope to use Twitter , he tweets under the handle @ Pontifex -- meaning `` bridge builder '' in Latin . All his messages have been retweeted by thousands of followers , although others have used Twitter to criticize the Catholic Church over sexual abuse by priests , its stance on gay marriage and other issues . Here are Pope Benedict XVI 's five most popular Twitter messages , as ranked by the number of retweets : . .
The pope has been active on Twitter only since December 12 . The spiritual leader stunned the world Monday with the news that he will resign February 28 . He tweets under the handle @ Pontifex -- meaning `` bridge builder '' in Latin .