VATICAN CITY — Got a prayer or problem for Pope Benedict XVI? Now you can send him an e-mail.
The Vatican has given him a papal electronic mailbox.
The Holy See hasn’t said how many messages the pope has gotten, but if the late John Paul II’s experience with a multimedia ministry is any guide, the new leader of the world’s 1.1 billion Roman Catholics will have an inbox jammed with prayers, problems and pet peeves.
Thursday, the Vatican modified its Web site — www.vatican.va — so users who click on a “Greetings to the Holy Father” icon on the home page automatically activate an e-mail composer with his address in the send field.
The address for messages in English is benedictxvi@vatican.va. There are also addresses for e-mails in Italian, Spanish, French, German and Portuguese.