Vatican City - Pope Leone XIV is about to publish his first major doctrinal letter. The encyclical entitled „Magnifica Humanitas“ is dedicated to the protection of the human person in the age of artificial intelligence. The document is dated May 15, which is exactly the 135th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII's historic social encyclical „Rerum Novarum“.
A historic first for the presentation
The official presentation of the document will take place on May 25, 2026 at 11:30 a.m. in the Synod Hall. This will be a first in the history of the Catholic Church: for the first time, a pope will personally attend and speak at the presentation of his own encyclical. This extraordinary commitment underlines the importance that Leone XIV attaches to the topic. In August 2025, the pontiff was already ranked among the 100 most influential personalities in the field of artificial intelligence.
International experts on the podium
In addition to the Pope, the Vatican press office has announced a number of high-ranking speakers for the event. From the Roman Curia, Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and Cardinal Michael Czerny, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Service for the Integral Development of Man, will make statements. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Secretary of State, will close the event.
International experts from science and technology will also enrich the panel. These include Anna Rowlands, Professor of Political Theology at Durham University in the UK, and Leocadie Lushombo, an expert in Catholic social thought at the Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University in California. Special attention will be paid to the participation of Christopher Olah. The co-founder of the US company Anthropic is responsible for research into the interpretability of artificial intelligence and thus brings the developers' perspective to the Vatican discourse.
