“Can A.I. do what Fra Angelico did?” | Postcards from Rome 2026

Our first stop in Italy was Florence, or as the Italians call it, Firenze. Thanks to our outstanding Art Historian and Tour Guide, Christina Mifsud, we immediately found ourselves immersed in the magnificence of Catholic Art and Architecture from the Early Renaissance Period (14th – 16th century). As we were approaching the entrance of the Museo di San Marco, a 15th century Dominican Monastery erected by one of the prominent members of the Medici family and decorated by Fra Angelico, Christina said something that struck me to the heart: “It is said that Fra Angelico wept with tears when he painted the scenes of the crucifixion which are depicted on the walls of this monastery.” When I came face to face with one of his paintings of the crucifixion, I immediately understood that it was painted by a man who had deeply interiorized our Lord’s passion and was depicting the fruits of his own contemplation on the mystery of the cross. I realized that Fra Angelico, among many other Catholic artists, preached the gospel in a wholly incarnational yet unique manner—that is, through the talents that God had given them in this life.

I couldn’t help but relate all that I had seen that day to Pope Leo XIV’s latest Encyclical on the subject of A.I., Magnifica Humanitas. The Holy Father affirms that, if not put in its proper place and ordered towards the good of the human person, A.I. has a real capacity to subvert human dignity and take away from the magnificence for which God created man and woman, namely, to share in his Trinitarian Life and live as beings who represent his image and likeness. A.I. promises to fix the world’s problems through its “universality” and “accessibility.” But can A.I. do what Fra Angelico did in that Dominican Monastery? Can it spend hours in deep prayer, contemplating on the reality of Christ’s love made manifest on the cross? Can tears of sorrow gush forth from its software as it is overtaken by deep contrition and then express this experience in a magnificent piece of art?

In my high school Men’s Chorus, my director would always make us memorize our music and sing without it on stage. One day he explained to us why this was so important. He affirmed that, if he were to run the sheet music through a computer, it would be able to produce all four voice parts with perfection. “That is great,” he would say, “but that is not music.” He did not want us to sing the pieces like robots. According to Dr. Strother, only when we had mastered the lyrics and the melody could we actually sing the piece in the most authentic sense, for this allowed our unique personality as a group to blossom. God created each of us with specific gifts and talents through which he desires to show forth his perfection for the edification of our brothers and sisters. Let us not permit ourselves to be deceived into thinking that technology and “advancement” will ever replace the indispensable dignity of the human person.

Michael Falcone
Diocese of Nashville

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