The Statesman in the Vatican
Pope Francis is sometimes called a more "modern" pope. 100 years ago, a 1924 P.W. Wilson article in New York Times Magazine called Pope Pius XI the same:
He has invited baseball into the grounds of the Vatican; he has submitted himself to the motion camera; he has acquired an automobile.
It's unclear to me exactly what Wilson meant when he wrote the pope "has submitted himself to the motion camera," as though this was a new development? According to my research, Pope Leo XIII was the first pontiff ever filmed... back in 1896, a full 26 years prior.
Wilson also suggested that Pope Pius XI could change a major component of official Catholic Church doctrine:
As for difficulties over the virgin birth, the rejoinder of Rome is a rumor hitherto unconfirmed, that the Pope, using his infallible authority, may supplement the dogma of the immaculate conception, declared in 1854, by the further dogma that our Lord's Mother is corporeally present in heaven, a dogma already believed by most Catholics.
Instead, it was his successor Pope Pius XII who declared the Assumption of Mary as official dogma in 1950.
In the current era, the "modern" actions of Pope Francis include joining Twitter/X where he has 18.6 million followers, plus Instagram where has 9.2 million. No papal TikTok account, at least not yet.
The Statesman in the Vatican
Published: Sunday, March 16, 1924