Pope Benedict XVI is to launch a personal Twitter account for the first time.
The Vatican is expected to confirm the new account at a press conference on Monday morning, attended by officials from both the Catholic Church and Twitter.
A Vatican spokesman told news group CNN that Pope Benedict XVI would compose and send his first tweet himself and then allow the account to be updated by staff.
It is unclear what his Twitter handle will be.
A Vatican spokesman confirmed in November that the Pope was planning to open his own account.
In July 2011 Pope Benedict sent a tweet to launch the Vatican’s news information portal, @news_va_en.
It read: “Dear Friends, I just launched News.va Praised be our Lord Jesus Christ! With my prayers and blessings, Benedictus XVI.”
There are several Twitter accounts already purporting to belong to Pope Benedict XVI, though some are clearly spoofs.