Pope Francis' 'first selfie' revealed as a fake after garnering 10,000 'likes'

The pope has previously warned of the perils of technology in the modern age

The image was not a selfie but a still (VINCENZO PINTO/AFP/Getty Images)

Social media was abuzz earlier today with rumours that Pope Francis had committed the ultimate Millennial act of taking a selfie.

However, it soon became apparent that all was not what it seemed as it was revealed the selfie and Instagram account claiming to be officially from the Vatican, were fake.

A spokesperson for the Vatican confirmed to Mashable that the Pope does not have an Instagram account.

The photo, which quickly amassed over 10,000 likes, is actually a still from a video chat he did with young people in September, 2014.

While the leader of the Catholic church does not have Instagram, he does have Twitter and currently has over eight million followers.

In 2014, the Vatican claimed the reason he has Twitter over Facebook is that there was concerned about the increased level of abuse he may get from having an account on the world’s largest social media website.

Previously, the Pope himself has not indicated he is a huge fan of modern technology and social media. In, January he urged families to put their smart phones down and increase their communication with each other.

Previously in August of last year, he told an audience of young people that the internet, smartphones and television “distract attention away from what is really important” in life.