Pope Francis, Twitter, and Collective Identity Religious Branding of Crises

During the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic, the public sought solace and insight from a variety of public figures ranging from infectious disease scientists to elected officials and religious leaders like Pope Francis of the Holy Roman Catholic Church (HRCC). Previous scholarship established that individuals often turn to religious figures during times of crisis, to help them interpret and make sense of threats and changes in environment, as well as for advice or leadership on action and responses (Magezi, 2017). For followers, religious figures offer insight into both the spiritual and physical parts of a crisis, as demonstrated in a variety of contexts such as famine and Ebola outbreaks in Africa, or tsunamis in Southeast Asia (Bell, 2019; McGilvray & Gamburd, 2010; Marshall, 2015). Religious figures offer insights via a variety of religious communication channels ranging from homilies and sermons to prayer services and editorial or opinion pieces.