Vatican Deploys AI Live Translation for Mass

The Vatican launched AI-powered live translation of Holy Mass at Saint Peter's Basilica, covering 60 languages through a QR code - no app needed. The system runs on Lara, a translation tool built by language services company Translated, which claims its model draws on the work of over 500,000 professional translators. Visitors scan a code and get real-time audio and text of the liturgy in their language. It's a pragmatic deployment in a setting where the audience is genuinely global and multilingual by default, not aspirationally so. The UN, European Parliament, and major conference organizers have been testing similar real-time translation setups, but the Vatican's adoption puts the technology in front of a very different user base - one measured in pilgrims, not delegates.