How a Canadian in Rome is building a Catholic AI from Vatican archives

Toronto native Matthew Harvey Sanders, a 43‑year‑old former Anglican turned Catholic, is developing Magisterium AI in Rome’s Pontifical Oriental Institute. The large‑language model trains exclusively on Vatican‑linked documents—papal encyclicals, council decrees, and the Oriental Institute’s vast Eastern Catholic bibliography—using robotic arms and high‑resolution scanners near Termini station. Launched as of Feb. 1 2026, Magisterium is active in 185 countries, serving clergy, seminary professors, and an expanding lay base, especially Gen Z. The project faces questions of doctrinal accuracy and authority; the Vatican has not approved it, though a letter from Pope Leo IV encourages technological innovation. Sanders argues the tool should cite primary sources and remain a reference, not a replacement for pastoral care.