Originally published at National Catholic Register
Minecraft, the popular video game known for its blocky, pixelated graphics, has launched a new educational edition that challenges students to explore and restore St. Peter’s Basilica.
Michelangelo’s dome, Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s colonnade, and the ancient tomb of the apostle Peter have been recreated within Minecraft’s iconic digital world of 3D cubes and retro gaming aesthetic.
Microsoft and the Vatican unveiled the game, Peter Is Here: AI for Cultural Heritage, at a press event in Rome on March 18. The project is the latest step in their collaboration on an AI-enhanced experience of St. Peter’s Basilica.
Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, the archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, placed the educational video game under the patronage of St. Joseph, who was “the educator par excellence of the child of God.”
“Those who play with St. Peter’s Basilica in Minecraft Education have the opportunity to try their hand at creative architectural interventions, to discover the history of the basilica, to restore it, and to enter
