Last weekend, Alberto Chinchilla returned to the Vatican. It was not a foreign place to him. In 2010, he was hired by Federico Lobardi, the Italian priest who served as the spokesperson for the Holy See, to open a Twitter profile - now X - for BenedictXVI. Five frenetic years began: Ratzinger abdicated; the conclave was held for the first time with a thousand multimedia eyes waiting for the white smoke, and Jorge Mario Bergoglio became the first American Pope, completely altering the way of communicating of a millennia-old institution.
"With Pope Francis, there was a great change. Technological evolution also contributed: when the pontificate of Benedict XVI began, there was not the exposure that exists now. Social media was slowly awakening, but now they are permanent. Now we will see if the legacy left by Francis is maintained. Hopefully, it will be," estimates Chinchilla, co-founder and CEO of the consulting firm Be Shared and partner of the Association of Communication Executives (Dircom).
After the death of Pope Francis, his 18.3 million followers on X were surprised to see how the Vatican quickly modified the official account: his profile picture disappeared, replaced by the Vatican coat of arms, and the account was renamed Apostolica Sedes Vacans (Vacant Apostolic See). "These are decisions that are made quickly. They cannot be analyzed in depth. But we must look at Instagram, where Francis's official profile is maintained. There, the operation was different. It would be necessary to seek some coherence, uniformity across all channels. That is a change that will now have to be worked on with the new Pope," considers the social media specialist, who goes a step further regarding the communication of the leader of the Catholic Church: he believes that the new successor of Peter should make videos for TikTok.
"It is the social network with the most reach right now and the closest to the young audience," he reflects. And for this, he has his candidate: the Filipino cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, the Asian Francis, who has already had viral videos in which he is seen dancing or singing, microphone in hand, Imagine by John Lennon.
"Tagle is a favorite in many predictions. If chosen, I am sure he would have great ease in facing new communication challenges, given that for several years he had his own YouTube channel where he created his own videos and had millions of views," he emphasizes. He does so from the experience of someone who dealt with two diametrically opposed Popes when expressing their opinions. "We noticed the change from the first days of Francis's pontificate," he reveals. "We saw that he had great communication skills, a profile that wanted to be with people, that was very close. We also noticed it in his language: very plain, introducing many anecdotes and adding humor. Benedict XVI was more reserved. In the end, he was a theoretician. He always said he would have liked to continue in academia. Pope Francis, in that sense, was the opposite, a very down-to-earth and approachable person, who became friends with those he met in daily life."
Chinchilla had arrived at the Vatican from Catalonia. It all started in Barcelona in 2010 when Benedict XVI came to consecrate the Sagrada Familia, and the Archdiocese contacted him with a request: "Hey, Alberto, do you think you can help us change the current sentiment on Google about the visit a bit?" "At that time, there was talk about the economic costs of the visit. There were also complaints from LGBTQ+ groups. There were practically no positive comments about his arrival. I had a communication company, and we voluntarily launched a campaign with several colleagues and friends. It was The Pope in Barcelona, where, with information in Spanish and Catalan, everything that the visit meant was collected. It was the first time that the Catholic Church conducted a campaign through social media," he recalls.
Next, he received a call from the agency Rome Reports, and for three years, he boosted their digital presence. This already brought him closer to the Vatican, for whom he began to run some campaigns through Father Lombardi. From there, he moved to ACIprensa, where he had direct contact with the pontiffs with specific campaigns like Pause for Peace in 2014. "Due to the final of the World Cup in Brazil between Argentina and Germany, precisely the countries of the two Popes at that time, we alerted that innocent Christians were being killed in the Middle East and asked for that pause for peace." Francis did not hesitate to join. "In the Angelus on Sunday, the day of the final, he asked the faithful in St. Peter's Square to support the campaign. The Huffington Post, The Wall Street Journal, or The Times highlighted that 'it was the first time the Vatican had spoken out on an event like that,'" he reminisces.
For 15 years, Chinchilla has worked for different brands in England, Ireland, Colombia, and the USA, helping politicians, executives, journalists, or athletes create their personal brand. That's why he insists on the advantages the Vatican would have if the next Pope possesses "minimal communication or digital skills." "It is essential at a time when the population communicates through social media," he points out.
And if the conclave elects a Pope who, as is usual for middle-aged cardinals - around 70 years old - is not very adept at social media, the solution is simple: "Help him." "He must be trained to understand the channels that the Church has today to evangelize and reach a larger audience."