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[00:00.16] Technology company Microsoft is working with the Roman Catholic Church to create a detailed, digital version of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.

[00:16.63] The project aims to give people a new way to experience the famous building, which sits in the Catholic Church’s spiritual and administrative center in Rome.

[00:32.83] Roman Catholic leaders recently joined Microsoft’s President Brad Smith to present the new digital creation to the public.

[00:45.31] The official launch of the system has been set for December 1.

[00:51.43] It will permit individuals to explore St. Peter’s Basilica online and provide interactive experiences for all visitors to the Vatican.

[01:06.30] The effort involved drones flying around the empty basilica for four weeks to capture images of all parts of the building.

[01:19.58] The drones – equipped with many cameras and lasers – took more than 400,000 high-quality pictures.

[01:29.41] The process used artificial intelligence (AI) methods to create a complete 3D copy of the basilica.

[01:40.56] One goal of the project was to provide a way for anyone in the world to have the chance to “visit” the church and learn about its history.

[01:53.05] Microsoft chief Smith told a press conference at Vatican City the project represented “one of the most technologically advanced and sophisticated projects of its kind” ever carried out.

[02:12.17] Cardinal Mauro Gambetti is the Archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica.

[02:19.08] He praised the new technology at the press conference. Gambetti compared the highly detailed digital experience to looking up at a “starry sky on a summer night.”

[02:43.52] He added, “The new tools act like a telescope or spaceship for better viewing.”

[02:44.58] The project was launched ahead of the Vatican's 2025 Jubilee celebration.

[02:52.03] This marks a holy year at the Vatican when more than 30 million worshippers are expected to visit the basilica.

[03:02.65] This will be in addition to the 50,000 people who visit on a normal day.

[03:13.00] The basilica will celebrate its 400th anniversary in 2026.

[03:17.51] The Associated Press reported Pope Francis visited Smith and the project’s development teams at the Vatican.

[03:29.74] He said the effort should help everyone “feel welcome in this great house.”

[03:37.97] The pope added that the project was a way to recognize and continue to celebrate the Vatican’s rich spiritual history.

[03:48.33] “…It is a gift and a task to care for it, in both a spiritual and material sense, even through the latest technologies,” he said.

[04:01.88] Pope Francis has warned that AI should only be used in ethical ways.

[04:21.27] In his World Message of Peace this year, he proposed an international treaty to control, or regulate, the technology.

[04:22.86] He argued that AI systems lack human values and could cause great harm.

[04:29.24] The digital system permits visitors to request entry times to the basilica.

[04:36.94] This could be a welcome change for visitors used to waiting in lines for hours to get into the basilica, which is one of the world’s most visited buildings.

[04:50.49] The collected images have already identified structural damage and signs of deterioration.

[04:59.80] Experts said the technology can find such problems much faster and more effectively than human workers.

[05:10.42] Vatican officials plan to use the images to continually identify areas needing repairs.

[05:20.52] Smith did not say how much Microsoft had invested in the project.

[05:27.16] But he said the idea came after Pope Francis urged technology companies in 2018 to come together to use AI for cultural purposes.

[05:43.63] Smith noted his company had also completed similar AI projects at Mont Saint-Michel in France and for Ancient Olympia in Greece.