An icon created with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) has been consecrated in a Catholic church in Belarus, reports the katolik.life portal.

The consecration ceremony took place in the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Novolukoml. The icon depicts the late Italian teenager Carlo Acutis, also known as the “Cyber Apostle.”

Acutis was a self-taught programmer who spread the Catholic faith via the Internet. The teenager died of leukemia in 2006 at the age of 15, and in September 2025 the Catholic Church canonized him.

The image of Saint Carlo Acutis is placed in the side altar of the aforesaid church and will serve as the protector of the main patron of the church, the icon of St. Mary Magdalene.

This event has caused a sharp reaction among the faithful. Some of them have criticized this initiative of the Novolukoml parish, noting that an AI-generated image cannot be called an icon and prayed in front of it.