Pope Leo XIV wants AI to help serve this church mission: ‘Whether designing algorithms for…’

Pope Leo XIV has called for artificial intelligence (AI) to support the Catholic Church’s mission of evangelisation. With this message, the Pope has encouraged Catholic technologists and investors gathered in Rome to develop systems that help spread the Gospel.

According to a report by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Pope's message was read during the 2025 Builders AI Forum at the Pontifical Gregorian University. He specifically outlined various applications for the technology. In his message, Pope Leo wrote: “Whether designing algorithms for Catholic education, tools for compassionate health care, or creative platforms that tell the Christian story with truth and beauty, each participant contributes to a shared mission: to place technology at the service of evangelisation and the integral development of every person.”While the Pope has previously emphasised the need for ethically grounded AI, this message marks the first time he has directly connected the technology’s potential to the church’s missionary work. Forum organisers emphasised the importance of the church's involvement, noting how AI tools are increasingly influencing how people seek meaning online. In a statement, Matthew Sanders, a Catholic AI developer and event organiser, said: “There are billions of people who do not yet know Christ and the truth that Christianity fully possesses.

If the church's guiding hand is not there, this technology has the power to do unimaginable harm, amplifying confusion and despair.”

Microsoft, Goldman Sachs and others who participated in this AI forum

The report cited registration materials indicating around 200 participants, including software engineers, venture capital partners, Catholic media producers, bishops, and Vatican communications officials. The event was structured as a working summit rather than a public conference, with most sessions held in smaller group workshops.The registration list included representatives from Microsoft, Palantir Technologies, and Goldman Sachs, as well as Catholic filmmakers and ministry leaders. Actor and producer Lorenzo Henrie — who is currently co-financing and starring as an apostle in Mel Gibson’s “The Resurrection of the Christ,” now filming in Italy — was also among those listed as participants.Following the opening remarks, attendees divided into six working groups, each focused on a specific issue. Topics included the use of AI in Catholic education and whether the church should develop a “Catholic Turing Test” to identify potential signs of consciousness in advanced systems.Interest was notably high in the “Building and Scaling Catholic AI” session, which drew about half of the forum’s participants and focused on applying AI tools for evangelisation, the report added.“We’re starting to leverage AI to impart the truth of the Catholic faith, but there’s more to the faith than just imparting truth. There’s the pastoral, human dimension,” Sanders told Catholic News Service.A recurring theme throughout the sessions was how to help individuals move from digital encounters with Catholic content into participation in parish life.

Sanders noted that many users first engage with Catholic teachings through apps like Hallow or Magisterium AI. He said that without guidance new believers may find it challenging to connect with a worshipping community.“The question is how do we 'off-ramp' people from products like Magisterium AI and help ensure that they can find either a community or show them how the faith is lived,” Sanders noted.He explained that the goal is to connect individuals to a tradition or practice that feels meaningful, whether Eucharistic adoration, a charismatic Mass, or the Latin Mass, so they feel supported rather than isolated.In another session, “AI for Faithful Christian Storytelling in Media,” filmmakers, writers, and digital creators discussed ways AI could help broaden the reach of Catholic stories. For Eike Petersen of Aid to the Church in Need, the main challenge is not the lack of compelling stories but limited visibility."From a communications perspective, there’s so much good work the church is doing for persecuted Christians around the world. But this is really something I think we can scale with AI,” Petersen told participants.Petersen added that he hoped the discussion would help clarify “what the technology is that’s needed for that and how to approach it,” especially in regions where digital outreach could expand awareness and build solidarity.