An icon created by artificial intelligence was consecrated in Belarustranslated

On October 11, the former head of the Catholic Church of Belarus, Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz, blessed the icon created using artificial intelligence. This was reported by the Belarusian publication Katolik.life.

The image in question is located in the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in the city of Novolukoml. He portrays Carlo Acutis, a teenager who was canonized by the Vatican a year ago.

Katolik.life notes that on social networks, believers criticized the blessing of the image of Acutis, emphasizing that the AI-generated image cannot be considered an icon.

Katolik.life called this the first case in Belarus of illuminating an icon created by AI. Meduza was unable to find information about the consecration of similar images in other countries, including Russia.

Carlo Acutis is an Italian teenager who came to faith as a child. He learned to code and created websites for Catholic organizations; he also created a website documenting miracles around the world. In 2006, at the age of 15, Acutis died of leukemia. In 2025, the Vatican canonized him. Acutis has been called the “patron saint of the internet” and the first saint of the millennial generation.