Vatican Announces Pope Leo XIV's First Encyclical Will Release May 25

What we know

Magnifica Humanitas is the first papal encyclical dedicated to artificial intelligence. Its Latin title means "Magnificent Humanity," reflecting Pope Leo XIV's emphasis on the inviolable dignity of the human person at a time of rapid technological transformation.

The Vatican has confirmed that several prominent figures will speak at the May 25 press conference:

• Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, who co-signed the Vatican's 2025 doctrinal note Antiqua et Nova
• Cardinal Michael Czerny, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development
• Anna Rowlands, ethics professor at Durham University
• Christopher Olah, AI researcher and co-founder of Anthropic
• Léocadie Lushombo, theologian
• Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, will deliver the concluding remarks

The presence of Olah, an AI researcher from one of the major AI labs, is particularly significant. It signals the Vatican's intention to engage directly with the technology community in shaping how the encyclical's teachings are received.

The Rerum Novarum parallel

Pope Leo XIV's choice of signing date is not incidental. May 15 is the anniversary of Rerum Novarum, the 1891 encyclical by Pope Leo XIII that became the founding document of modern Catholic social teaching. The 1891 encyclical addressed the upheavals of the First Industrial Revolution; the new pontiff has positioned AI as a comparable civilizational rupture from his earliest days in office.

The current pope took the name Leo partly to evoke this parallel. Days after his election in May 2025, he told the College of Cardinals that "in our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence."

Several other landmark social encyclicals have also been promulgated on May 15: Quadragesimo Anno (Pius XI, 1931) and Mater et Magistra (John XXIII, 1961). Magnifica Humanitas's signing date positions the document in this lineage. For more background, see why Pope Leo XIV chose his name.

What to expect

While the full text remains under embargo until May 25, several themes are likely to feature prominently based on Pope Leo XIV's prior statements and the foundation laid by Antiqua et Nova:

Human dignity as the central anchor. The protection of human dignity in the age of AI is the document's stated focus, per its subtitle. Continuity with Catholic social teaching, particularly the line running from Rerum Novarum through the major twentieth-century social encyclicals. Concerns about AI's effects on labor, including deskilling, surveillance, and the concentration of economic power. Warnings about AI's use to simulate human relationships, a theme Antiqua et Nova framed as a "grave ethical violation." The condition of warfare, where Vatican statements have called for the banning of lethal autonomous weapons systems.

For a fuller analysis of what the encyclical is expected to address, see Church & Code's analytical page on Magnifica Humanitas, which will be updated with the full text once it is released on May 25.

Sources

Holy See Press Office announcement (May 18, 2026); OSV News reporting (May 18, 2026); Catholic Connect (May 18, 2026); Axios (May 14, 2026).