The Chapel of Saint Peter in Lucerne has replaced the priest in the confessional with a digital avatar of Jesus. The installation, titled Deus in Machina, is a project from a local university research laboratory that studies immersive reality.
For a long time the small chapel was considered the oldest in Lucerne. But after the confessional installation, the AI avatar of Jesus—capable of communicating in 100 languages—became a striking modern addition. Some people criticized the innovation.
What else is known about the new experience of St. Peter’s Chapel?
“This was a true experiment. We wanted to see and understand how people react to Jesus—what they talk about with him, and whether they find it interesting to talk to him. We are probably pioneers in this,” said theologian Mark Schmidt from the church.
After a series of experiments with virtual and augmented reality, a team of researchers reached an agreement with St. Peter’s Church to use such an avatar in its confessional. Mark Schmidt noted, “We discussed whose avatar it would be — a theologian, a person, or a saint? But then we realized that the best figure would be Jesus himself.”
As a result, the church installed an AI-driven program in the confessional. After the system was trained on theological texts, visitors were invited to ask questions of a digital image of Jesus projected on a mesh screen. The avatar responded in real time using AI-generated answers.
People were advised not to disclose personal information. Over the two-month experiment, more than 1,000 participants, including Muslims and tourists from distant countries like China and Vietnam, took the opportunity to speak with the AI avatar of Jesus.
Data from the experiment will be presented to the scientific community soon. Of 230 users who gave testimony, two-thirds described it as a “spiritual experience,” Schmidt said. But there were negative reviews: some participants said talking to the machine was difficult, and one local reporter called its responses rather banal.
According to Schmidt, the experiment drew criticism from parts of the church community. Catholic members protested using the confessional that way, while some Protestants objected to using that image in the installation. The Guardian reported that the project’s creators ultimately decided the AI avatar should remain an experiment.
They also emphasized the idea’s positive potential. “It is truly a simple, accessible tool that can be used to talk about religion, Christianity, and faith,” noted Mark Schmidt.
