When most people think about the 400th anniversary of St. Peter’s Basilica, they probably imagine incense, choirs, and centuries of tradition. All of that is coming. But there is also something else woven into this milestone year: artificial intelligence.
Yes, AI. Inside St. Peter’s. As a proud Catholic, I did not have “real-time AI translations inside St. Peter’s” on my bingo card. But here we are. And honestly, that is pretty cool.
Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, Archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica and President of the Fabbrica di San Pietro, outlined the initiatives during a press conference at the Holy See Press Office. The anniversary year begins February 20 and concludes November 18 with a Holy Mass celebrated by Pope Leo XIV.
The most striking announcement, at least to me, is a multilingual liturgical platform developed with the Dicastery for Communication and Translated. It will provide real-time, AI-assisted translations that pilgrims can access on their smartphones during major celebrations.
The mechanics are refreshingly simple. At the entrance and throughout the Basilica, visitors will be able to scan QR codes. Those codes will open a webpage offering live audio and text translations. No app. No rented device. No complicated setup. Just your phone and a browser.
The system relies on the live interpreting capabilities of Lara, the artificial intelligence translation platform developed by Translated. The goal is to allow the faithful to follow the principal celebrations in their chosen language as they happen.
If you have ever attended a major liturgy in Rome, you know how international the Church really is. You hear English, Spanish, Polish, Tagalog, French, and languages you cannot even identify, all within a few steps of each other. The idea that someone can stand beneath Michelangelo’s dome and understand the homily in near real time is not trivial. It changes the experience.
Cardinal Gambetti made it clear that this anniversary is not simply about nostalgia. He said celebrating the centenary is not merely recalling a date, but “bringing back to the heart” what gives life and hope. That framing matters. The technology is not the star. The faith is.
There are other digital components as well. A new booking system called Smart Pass will help regulate visitor flows while safeguarding the sacred character of the site. An expanded digital ecosystem will allow pilgrims to share prayers and testimonies. These are practical tools, but they signal something larger: the Vatican is not afraid to modernize logistics if it helps the faithful.
There is also a project called “Beyond the Visible,” a joint effort between the Fabric of Saint Peter and the Italian energy company Eni. It focuses on safeguarding the structural stability of the Basilica through integrated and permanent structural monitoring. Even a 17th-century masterpiece now lives alongside sensors and data systems.
And then there is a small but symbolic detail I actually love. The Vatican is introducing a new institutional font called Michelangelus, inspired by the handwriting of Buonarroti and developed by Studio Gusto. It will even be included in Microsoft Office. Renaissance inspiration meeting modern software. That is a sentence I never thought I would type.
Some people get nervous when they hear “AI” attached to anything sacred. I understand that instinct. But nothing here suggests automation replacing reverence. This is translation, access, clarity. Tools in service of people.
Four hundred years after its dedication, St. Peter’s Basilica is not a museum frozen in time. It is a living place of worship that still draws millions. Watching the Vatican carefully integrate artificial intelligence into that space feels less like a gimmick and more like continuity. The Church has always used the tools of the age. This just happens to be the age of AI.
And as a Catholic, seeing that done thoughtfully, without diluting what makes the place holy, makes me proud.
