Mark Zuckerberg Will ‘Never Forget’ Meeting Pope

Earlier this week, Mark Zuckerberg and his wife had the honor of meeting Pope Francis, a meeting that the young couple will “never forget.”

“You can feel [the Pope’s] warmth and kindness, and how deeply he cares about helping people… We told him how much we admire his message of mercy and tenderness, and how he’s found new ways to communicate with people of every faith around the world.”

The Facebook CEO had more than a handshake to offer the pontiff. Zuckerberg also gave Pope Francis a hard-to-forget gift: a drone.

“We also discussed the importance of connecting people, especially in parts of the world without internet access. We gave him a model of Aquila, our solar-powered aircraft that will beam internet connectivity to places that don’t have it. And we shared our work with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative to help people around the world.”

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Zuckerberg did not forget to update his Facebook followers. He posted pictures of his presentation of the drone to the pope on his page, as well as their other activities.

Since becoming pope three years ago, Pope Francis has won the hearts, minds, and curiosity of many, both within the Catholic faith and in the general public. He is even active across the web and social media sites, such as Twitter. He has never wanted for followers, with numbers that American presidents have never seen. However, despite his warmth and the hard-to-forget meeting with Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Pope Francis has never had a Facebook account.

According to KTVU News, the Vatican never commented on whether the pope had plans of creating an FB account after his meeting with Zuckerberg. However, the spokesperson, Greg Burke, made mention of other topics.

“[They discussed] how to use communication technologies to alleviate poverty, encourage a culture of encounter, and make a message of hope arrive, especially to those most in need.”

Although Zuckerberg never mentioned any plans to meet the pontiff, he did say that would not forget those who suffered during the terrible earthquake.

“[I am] looking forward to spending time with our Italian community.”

Part of the young couple’s original itinerary in Italy was attending a friend’s wedding, Daniel Ek. However, the couple has their own love for, and a few forget-me-never memories in, Italy, as well. Zuckerberg said Rome holds its own place in his heart. Not only is the FB CEO a Classical History and Latin pupil, WTKR reports that he and his wife also had their honeymoon there, which they could never forget.

Zuckerberg’s drastic change of wardrobe gave some of his followers something else they found hard to forget. Jason Beers commented on the CEO’s usually never-formal attire.

“Where is the grey shirt? Man, the Pope must be a important man he got Mark dressed up!”

Mark did not forget to speak publicly in Italy during his mini vacation.

“It’s great to be back in Rome! We started the day with a run past the Circus Maximus and House of Augustus up to the Colosseum. It’s pretty amazing to run on roads in the city that helped invent them.”

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On top of his charitable gift to the pontiff, Zuckerberg also promised some college students that his site would donate about $560,000 to the local Red Cross branch. He did not forget to show his charitable side.

“We talked about last week’s earthquake and how the Facebook community in Italy and around the world has come together to help people recover and rebuild,” Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post.

Along with this drone that ensures that those who never had reliable internet access before would now have an option, Zuckerberg also adopted a new feature that assists users in the aftermath of tragic or natural disasters. Web surfers with FB accounts never have to worry about the safety of loved ones, thanks to the new “Safety Check.” Now, loved ones never have an excuse to forget about contacting family and friends to let them know that everything is ok in a crisis.

[Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images]