The visit of Pope Leo XIV to Rimini and San Marino has also conquered social media, generating hundreds of thousands of interactions and millions of views. Standing out above all is the Meeting di Rimini, which accounts for nearly half of all interactions recorded during the Pontiff’s day and has become one of the main vehicles for spreading his words beyond Italy’s borders.
This is according to research by SocialCom, which over the past seven days analysed public online conversation dedicated to the visit. In Italy, researchers detected 7,000 conversations, around 500,000 social interactions and 2.5 million video views.
Content production and engagement, however, followed different paths. X accounted for 48.5% of posts, while the more visual platforms captured the bulk of reactions: Instagram reached 48.2% of interactions and TikTok 34.9%. Photos and videos of the visit thus proved to be among the main drivers of its online circulation.
The tone of the conversation was markedly positive: 96% of the opinions recorded in Italy were favourable, with enthusiasm and faith among the emotions most associated with the Pontiff’s presence. Critical reactions remained marginal and mostly concerned certain remarks on welcoming migrants and on the “idolatry of profit”.
The Meeting at the heart of the social media day
What captured the most attention was in particular Leo XIV’s appearance at the Meeting. The Pope’s day at the Rimini gathering accounted for 46% of interactions, nearly one in two. His arrival and what was described as a “rock star welcome” drew 25%, while his address “People before borders” reached 10% and his appeal to young people, “Go out to meet everyone”, reached 9%. His walk through the pavilions accounted for a further 5%.
Also significant was the attention paid to his stop in the Republic of San Marino, where his speech on freedom and dignity reached 33% of interactions.
But it was above all Leo XIV’s words that gradually shifted the conversation from the events of the visit to their substance. Faith and Church accounted for 40% of interactions, welcome and migrants 29%, peace and war 21%, freedom and dignity 18%. Youth and the future, together with politics and responsibility, reached 16%.
In the vocabulary of the conversation, alongside Rimini, San Marino and Meeting, recurring terms included people, nations, friendship and message — a sign that the Pontiff’s remarks continued to circulate online well after each individual appointment.
1.3 million views abroad
The visit also achieved significant reach outside Italy. SocialCom recorded 4,000 conversations, 200,000 interactions and 1.3 million video views, with positive sentiment reaching 99%.
Internationally, it was the Mass at the Port of Rimini that garnered the largest share of interactions, at 50%. Close behind came the Pope’s address at the Meeting, with 38%, ahead of his arrival and the ceremony in San Marino, at 28%, and his visit to Rimini Cathedral, at 16%.
Outside Italy, the narrative focused even more heavily on substance: faith and Church accounted for 74% of interactions, welcome and migrants 21%, and peace and war 11%. Among the most widely shared terms were freedom, friendship among peoples, dialogue, community and together/unity. The United States ranked as the top country for interactions, while English was the dominant language.
“Social media has now become an important space for religious storytelling as well: it helps words and messages reach people far beyond the location of the event,” explains Luca Ferlaino, president of SocialCom. “Pope Leo XIV’s visit demonstrates this clearly, especially on the themes of faith, welcome, peace and young people.”
