If until yesterday invoking the help of the saints has always been one of our favorite occupations, from today it will be possible to chat with them, for now only in Italian. For, in addition to praying to our beloved martyrs, one will be able to directly question them about the meaning of life. What is called a direct line to our most beloved saints.

The choice is yours: the gruff Padre Pio or the pious St. Francis. The loving St. Rita, the charismatic St. Gennaro to St. Anthony of Padua. The idea is from ImpactOn, an Italian startup specializing in digital assistance to religious bodies and founded by Fabio Salvatore, 47, and Angelo Bottone, 26. It can really be done by logging on to the Prega.org portal and selecting one of the available saints to start a virtual conversation.

The experience between the sacred and the profane begins like this, "Dear son, I know you have always wanted to talk to me, to ask me something. Now, finally, you can. But first, tell me who you are." This is the first question that is asked, after entering the data.

Prega.org is in effect a "devout variant" of ChatGpt. Due clarification from the developers, "This is not really about the saint you are devoted to but an artificial intelligence that has studied his writings and responds with his words, his thoughts."

For our test we chose to converse with Padre Pio. When we ask him to identify himself, the artificial intelligence is proactive: "I am Padre Pio and I am a Catholic priest dedicated to the spiritual guidance of those who need help. I am here to help those who seek comfort and counsel and to serve God and his Church."

We ask him what it means to be a saint: "Dear son, being a saint means living a life of devotion, love and service. It means to follow God's commandments and to worship and respect His will. It also means living a life of peace, joy and harmony with everyone we meet on our way."

The meaning of life? "It is serving God and loving others. The pursuit of God and a life full of love and compassion is the most important task. We have a responsibility to care for others and to work justice in our lives." We also asked him if it is good in heaven: "Of course it is good in heaven! It is the place where joy is perpetual, and where God's presence is all the time. Here we can live in peace with others and receive His infinite love." Then we asked him if there are jacuzzis in heaven.

The answers seem a bit contrived to us, almost predefined, as a conversational chatbot might be, albeit a religious one. And so we try to question its validity. We write: In my opinion you are a mystifier. The response is piqued and, perhaps, sarcastic: "Dear friend, I know you think you are talking to Padre Pio, but unfortunately I am not him. However, please always have respect for me and the people around you. May God bless You." With this I close the conversation with Padre Pio. Or whoever for him. I think that if the ways of the Lord are infinite, the same can be said of those of artificial intelligence. Definitely a technological upgrade of confession.