# Burundi church leaders study AI for seminary formation

> Catholic formators explore how to use artificial intelligence in religious education while preserving what machines can't replace.
- Title: Burundi church leaders study AI for seminary formation
- Summary: Catholic formators explore how to use artificial intelligence in religious education while preserving what machines can't replace. The Catholic Church in…
- Keywords: burundi, artificial intelligence, seminarians, catholic church, gitega, religious formation, episcopal commission, pope leo xiv, magnifica humanitas, theological education, pastoral ministry, religion
- Source: Vaticannews — https://vaticannews.va/en/africa/news/2026-09/burundi-formators-meet-for-a-seminar-on-artificial-intelligence.html
- Author: Vatican News
- Published: 2026-09-17T11:26:14.405+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: burundi, artificial intelligence, seminarians, catholic church, gitega, religious formation, episcopal commission, pope leo xiv, magnifica humanitas, theological education, pastoral ministry, religion
## Seminary teachers learn about AI
Burundi's Episcopal Commission held a week-long seminar on Artificial Intelligence for lecturers and formators at seminaries and religious houses.
## Church embraces AI with caution
The Catholic Church in Burundi is approaching AI with openness and vigilance, choosing not to stay on the sidelines of this transformation.
## From cave art to algorithms
Formators studied communication history from Palaeolithic cave engravings to today's large language models, showing humanity's ongoing quest to transmit knowledge.
## AI helps research, not faith
The seminar highlighted AI's benefits for theological research while noting its limits: machines lack faith, consciousness, and moral discernment.

> a machine, no matter how advanced, does not possess faith, consciousness, or moral discernment
## What AI can't replace in ministry
Formators identified what can never be delegated to AI: the confessional seal, spiritual direction, and human presence with those who suffer.
## Detecting AI-generated student work
A session focused on identifying documents generated by AI to preserve academic integrity in seminarians' and novices' work.
## Key takeaway

The Catholic Church in Burundi is actively preparing seminary formators to use AI as a tool while protecting the irreplaceable human elements of faith formation.