VATICAN CITY, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- Pope Benedict XVI used his Twitter account from the Vatican to issue a Lent message to his Catholic followers.

"The Lenten season offers us once again an opportunity to reflect upon the very heart of Christian life: charity," the pope tweeted Thursday using his @Pope2YouVatican account.

Monsignor Paul Tighe, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, told Italy's ANSA news agency the Vatican has been increasing its presence in social media, including Twitter and Facebook, in recent years.

"Many of the key Gospel ideas are readily conveyed in just 140 characters," Tighe said.

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