THE VATICAN has launched an investigation after an Instagram account belonging to Pope Francis 'liked' a racy photograph of a Brazilian model.
According to the Catholic News Agency, officials at the Vatican are probing the usage of the Papal Instagram account after someone with access to the account apparently 'liked' an image of Brazilian model and Twitch streamer Natalia Garibotto.
The account, launched last year, liked the photograph which depicted Ms Garibotto scantily clad in a schoolgirl-like uniform on 13 November.
The image was unliked by the account on 14 November after a number of media outlets reported on the gaffe.
The image allegedly 'liked' by Pope Francis's official Instagram account (Image: nataagataa / Instagram)The Catholic News Agency contacted the Holy See press office at the time for comment, which they declined to give, but sources close to the Vatican told the outlet that a number of people have access to the account.
The investigation will now examine how the image came to be liked, or which person with access to the account liked the image.
The Vatican have launched a probe into how the Papal account liked the model's image on Instagram (Getty)Ms Garibotto herself responded to the awkward situation on Twitter, where she wrote "At least I'm going to heaven."
The model's account does not follow the Pope's official account, and the Papal account does not follow any accounts.
Pope Francis's account, with the username 'franciscus', provides Catholics with regular updates, including videos and images, from the Vatican and the Pope.
