A Catholic archbishop in Belarus has conducted what is believed to be the first blessing of an artificial intelligence-generated icon anywhere in the world.
Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz performed the ceremony on October 11 at the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Novolukoml.
The image shows Carlo Acutis, whom the Vatican elevated to sainthood last year.
According to Belarusian outlet Katolik.life, there are no records of similar blessings taking place in other countries.
Archbishop Kondrusiewicz previously served as the head of the Catholic Church in Belarus.
The blessing ceremony was reported by the parish priest, Father Mikalaj Lipski.
Acutis was an Italian youth who embraced the faith during his childhood and went on to learn computer programming.
He developed websites for Catholic organisations and built an online catalogue documenting Eucharistic miracles from around the globe.
The teenager dedicated himself to spreading his faith through digital means and made efforts to attend Holy Mass daily.
However, his life was cut short when he succumbed to leukaemia in 2006 aged just 15.
The Vatican canonised him last year, making him the first saint born in the millennial generation.
He has been given various titles, including “patron saint of the internet”, “cyber apostle”, “patron of youth”, and “apostle of the Eucharist”.
The blessing has sparked controversy among some believers, who took to social media to voice their objections.
Critics have maintained images produced by AI cannot properly be classified as icons.
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Many within the faith community appear to question whether technology-created pictures can hold the same sacred significance as traditional iconography.
Attempts to locate similar ceremonies in other nations, including Russia, have proven unsuccessful.
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