Was it something about the visit of modern-minded Los Angeles Archbishop Jose H. Gomez, currently in Vatican City for to receive a special wool pallium, that inspired Pope Benedict XVI to warble out his first Tweet, via Twitter for iPad, this afternoon? Whatever the inspiration, let us just say: What a marvelous Tweet it was. Benedict hasn't quite tested out his holy hashtag yet, but he's got self-promotional linking (to the Vatican's brand-new website) down to an art.

Continuing with the 21st century theme, video of the Historic First Tweet's issuance was quickly posted to YouTube, for all the Internets to worship. Also kind of revealing that the Pope didn't actually type the Tweet, more just pressed the “Send” button, but it warms our cold digital hearts all the same:

And here's the HFT itself, via the very un-catchy Vatican handle @news_va_en:

law logo2x bIt's almost as if God himself was present in the Twitterverse today. #Humbled.

By the way, in case you didn't notice they were missing, 250 devoted L.A. Catholics are accompanying Archbishop Gomez on his weeklong trip to Rome. According to NBC LA, they're “staying at a hotel in the shadows of the Pantheon.” So yeah — 250 Angelenos get to say they were in the same city as the Pope when he birthed HFT. #Jealous.

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