Pope Leo XIV is set to promulgate his first encyclical letter, “Magnifica Humanitas,” on the preservation of human dignity in the age of artificial intelligence, in an unprecedented move that will see the pontiff personally present the document at the Vatican on May 25. The letter, signed on May 15—the 135th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII’s seminal social encyclical Rerum Novarum—signals a deliberate effort to anchor the Church’s response to technological upheaval in its long tradition of social teaching. By choosing to appear at the presentation, a first for any pope, Leo XIV underscores the centrality of this message to his papacy. The event at the Synod Hall will feature senior cardinals and, notably, Christopher Olah, the billionaire co-founder of Anthropic, the AI safety company behind the Claude model.

The involvement of Anthropic, a firm that has publicly warned about the dangers of unchecked AI, is a significant signal of the Vatican’s intent to engage directly with the tech sector while maintaining a critical posture. The encyclical is expected to condemn the use of AI in warfare and to raise concerns about its impact on workers’ rights and human dignity, echoing the Church’s historical defence of the vulnerable. The choice of date, linked to Rerum Novarum, frames AI as the latest frontier in the Church’s advocacy for a just society. The presence of Olah—whose company clashed with the Trump administration after it ordered US agencies to stop using Anthropic in February—adds a geopolitical dimension that analysts in Washington view as a potential new flashpoint.

Viewed from Rome, the encyclical is a moral intervention in a global debate increasingly shaped by geopolitical rivalries. The Vatican’s alignment with a company that has resisted certain US directives places it on a collision course with an administration that has taken a more permissive approach to AI development. Meanwhile, in Latin America, the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) recently launched its own Coordinating Council for AI, aiming to guide the technology with an ethical and humanist framework—a move that resonates with the encyclical’s themes. This parallel initiative in the Global South suggests that the Church’s message may find fertile ground beyond its traditional Western base.

Looking ahead, “Magnifica Humanitas” will likely become a cornerstone of Leo XIV’s papacy, providing a doctrinal foundation for future Church statements on technology. The unprecedented format of a papal presentation, combined with the involvement of a leading AI practitioner, signals a desire to move beyond abstract principles towards concrete dialogue. However, the tensions with the Trump administration, which has already shown hostility towards both the Vatican and Anthropic, could escalate. As the encyclical circulates, its reception will test the Church’s ability to shape a rapidly evolving technological landscape while navigating an increasingly polarised geopolitical environment.