The emoji keyboard features an astronaut, a firefighter, a vampire and a ninja. A pope emoji, on the other hand, is nowhere to be found. To talk about the successor of Peter, we’re stuck with 👴⛪ or 🇻🇦, which looks more like a tour guide’s itinerary.
Yet few figures are as recognizable: the white cassock, the skullcap, the keys of Saint Peter, the white smoke rising from the Sistine Chapel while the whole world stares at a chimney. Then a cardinal steps onto the balcony of Saint Peter’s, announces “Habemus papam,” and the square erupts in applause before it even hears the name. The pope is at once Bishop of Rome, shepherd of some 1.4 billion Catholics and, ever since Benedict XVI opened the @Pontifex account in 2012, a daily presence on social media.
A pope emoji should be recognizable without being a caricature, and respectful without being stiff. Miter and papal cross, crossed keys, a white figure on the balcony, a hand raised for the Urbi et Orbi blessing: it’s up to you to find the right line.
There’s no proposal yet!
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