Vatican, Microsoft launch gameplay ‘Peter is Here’

Category : Technology | Sub Category : Innovation Posted on 2025-03-19 06:03:33

PNA

ROME – Minecraft Education, in partnership with St. Peter's Basilica and Microsoft, has launched an immersive interactive learning experience that lets students explore the legendary Basilica within the platform.

Building on the success of St. Peter's Basilica: AI-Enhanced Experience – an AI-powered initiative introduced last November with Microsoft ahead of this year’s Jubilee celebrations –the new project, Peter is Here, invites students to journey through the Basilica’s rich history.

Through key historical events, students can participate in virtual restoration work while discovering how the site’s cultural heritage blends with modern technology.

"This experience is aimed at accompanying students in the discovery of a fascinating spiritual, artistic, and architectural reality preserved in St. Peter's Basilica, a place in which the faith of multiple generations has shaped a space of elevation and dialogue between the human and the divine,” said Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, Archpriest of St. Peter's Basilica, Vicar for Vatican City, and President of the Fabbrica di San Pietro, the centuries-old Vatican institution responsible for the Basilica’s upkeep.

Microsoft Copilot was used to search and inform the historic experiences within the game while Microsoft Designer was employed to conceptualize assets of the game, among others.

Catholic schools around the world and schools across Italy will be among the first to use the new learning tool.