In a landmark moment for African theological discourse, Rev. Fr. DDr. Emmanuel Chinedu Anagwo, liturgy scholar and academia at the Department of Sacred Liturgy, Catholic Institute of West Africa (CIWA), presented a daring and erudite paper that boldly interrogates the interface between Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Catholic liturgical celebrations in Africa. Titled "The Question of Liturgical Celebrations and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Africa Today: Strange Bedfellows?", the paper was delivered during the 34th Theology Conference Week under the theme: "Theology, Artificial Intelligence and Hope for Humanity."

Bringing the full weight of centuries-old Catholic liturgical tradition into conversation with the dizzying momentum of contemporary digital innovation, Anagwo’s presentation captivated conference participants with its rare blend of liturgical orthodoxy, theological rigour, and digital acumen.

AI is neither messiah nor monster,” Anagwo asserts. “It is a tool — potent, promising, and potentially perilous if not integrated with care, reverence, and fidelity to liturgical norms

Anagwo’s intervention is timely in an age where digital media and AI-powered platforms are infiltrating every aspect of human experience — including worship. With poetic clarity and theological precision, he affirms the unique nature of Catholic liturgy as “the action of Christ the Priest and of His Body the Church — a sacred action surpassing all others.”

The paper argues vigorously against reducing the Eucharistic celebration into a spectacle dominated by mechanical precision and algorithmic simulations. The physical presence, ritual symbolism, and communal engagement — all pillars of authentic liturgical participation — risk being diluted in a digital age where virtual assistants, robot sacristans, e-choirs, and AI homilists are becoming increasingly feasible.

The paper did not merely lament — it educates, critiques, and proposes. Anagwo identifies Africa's teeming youth population as digital natives who could be drawn more deeply into the mysteries of the faith through judicious AI integration. However, he warns against AI’s tendency to create "spectators rather than worshippers," urging the Church in Africa to rise to the task of liturgical media literacy.

Quoting St. John Paul II’s famous Ad Limina address, he echoes a prophetic appeal to the Church: "The young are summoning the whole Church to take the next step in implementing the vision of worship..."

Anagwo insists that the Church’s mission must not be overwhelmed by novelty. Citing the General Instruction of the Roman Missal, he argues that digital devices — no matter how sophisticated — cannot replace the "worthy, dignified, and beautiful" liturgical books which serve as symbols of heavenly realities.

There is a mystical algorithm more potent than any code — it is the grace at work in every true liturgical celebration he writes with rhetorical force

Far from a technophobic manifesto, the paper advocates for “responsible AI,” urging the Church to study and harness its potential — not discard it. The call is not to vilify technology but to sanctify it through informed discernment.

In his conclusion, Anagwo reminds us that the liturgy opens a "cyberspace" where the natural and supernatural converge, declaring with audacity that AI and liturgical celebration “need not be strange bedfellows — but cautious companions.”

As the conference draws to a close, it is clear that Anagwo’s paper will not soon be forgotten. It has sparked dialogue, provoked questions, and set a new benchmark for theological engagement with technology on the African continent — and possibly, the global Church.

“In an era of artificial minds, let us not forget the necessity of authentic hearts,” Anagwo concluded to a standing ovation.

With this paper, CIWA once again affirms its place as a crucible of intellectual brilliance, theological depth, and prophetic scholarship in Africa.