Pope Benedict XVI kicked off the Catholic Chuch's leap into social media last year by sending his first tweet in late 2012. Now Pope Francis is taking the @Pontifex account to the next level by offering indulgences to his Twitter followers. Yes, you heard that right.

According to the Vatican's Sacred Apostolic Penitentiary publication, Pope Francis will be giving virtual “plenary indulgences” — which is intended to reduce time in Purgatory once sins have been confessed and absolved. Indulgences are typically offered to those who carry out certain tasks, and the Pope usually offers them to those who see him in person. Now it will extend to virtual visits, but only next week for those who are unable to attend 2013's World Youth Day (which begins Monday in Rio de Janeiro) and make an effort to keep up with the “rites and pious exercises” of the WYD events. “That includes following Twitter,” said a source at the penitentiary, “but you must be following the events live. It is not as if you can get an indulgence by chatting on the internet.”

Vatican officials were also quick to point out that obtaining indulgences over the internet or otherwise requires Catholics to first go to confession, attend Mass, and offer prayers for the Pope's intentions. The Vatican's Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communication, told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, “It's not enough just to watch a Mass online or follow Pope Francis via live streaming on your iPad or by connecting to Pope2You.net. These are just devices. What really counts is that the tweets the Pope sends from Brazil or the photos of the Catholic World Youth Day that go up on Pinterest produce authentic spiritual fruit in the hearts of everyone.”