Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday received a rock star's welcome at the Vatican's festival of Catholic influencers — priests, nuns and ordinary faithful who use their social media presence to preach and teach the faith — as he urged them to ensure that human relations don’t suffer with the spread of digital ecosystems and artificial intelligence.

Leo was mobbed by hundreds of influencers, their mobile phones hoisted high to stream the encounter, when he arrived at St Peter’s Basilica.