Pope Francis appears to have the same YouTube viewing habits as a millennial. The leader of the Roman Catholic Church professed his admiration for beauty vlogs during a private Vatican meeting with a host of global web stars.
Among the 12 popular YouTubers in attendance was fashion and style vlogger Louise Pentland, creator of the Sprinkle of Glitter channel on Google’s video platform.
“I am glad that you carry out the type of work you said, following the line of beauty, it’s a great thing. To preach beauty and show beauty helps neutralize aggression,” said the Pope during his round table meet-and-greet with the young web influencers.
Also present were Dulce Candy, a Mexican-American beauty vlogger who, as a child, entered the U.S. by illegally crossing the border, and comedian Hayla Ghazal, a Dubai-based social media star of Syrian descent, reports the Guardian. Ghazal was among a group of female creators chosen by the video platform to act as young ambassadors to the UN earlier this year.
The Pope took the opportunity to discuss a wide range of global issues with the YouTube stars, including “migration” and the importance of creating a positive digital identity. The former topic saw the pontiff recall his trip to the U.S.-Mexico border, and celebrate an Italian child’s sketch of a group of kids inviting a migrant to join them in a game of soccer. The Pope finished the session by thanking the participants for “giving me some of your youth as a gift.”
Moments after the meeting concluded, Pope Francis conducted a high-profile conference on education, with notable attendees including George Clooney alongside his wife, human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, and Hollywood actors Richard Gere, and Salma Hayek.
Despite claiming that he is hopeless with tech, the Pope has pushed forward with a number of digital initiatives since proclaiming the internet to be a “gift from God.” This year alone, he has held rare meetings with the chief executive of Alphabet, Eric Schmidt, and Instagram CEO Kevin Systrom — shortly after which he launched his very own account on the photo-sharing app.
