UNESCO to Host Pope Leo XIV on 25 September for Talks on AI, Education and Peace

UNESCO announced that Pope Leo XIV will visit its Paris headquarters on 25 September 2026 at the invitation of Director-General Khaled El-Enany. The event covers artificial intelligence, information integrity, education and artistic creation in the age of AI, with a youth forum in the morning and a high-level ceremony in the afternoon featuring a keynote by the Pontiff. It is the first papal visit to UNESCO in over four decades, the last being Pope John Paul II in 1980. The two sides will strengthen cooperation on artificial intelligence.

The event places AI ethics, education, information integrity and human dignity on one agenda, with UNESCO, the Holy See, young people, university presidents and decision-makers taking part, and may shape how countries discuss AI education policy and ethical norms. For education systems, the encyclical's emphasis on safeguarding future generations' autonomy of thought and critical thinking echoes UNESCO's work on skills development, education and training. The limitation is that what has been published is the event programme and agenda, with no specific cooperation projects, funding or curriculum details yet. UNESCO and the Holy See gain a high-level public platform for cooperation on AI ethics and education, which may push more countries to include AI ethics in education policy discussions. The youth forum brings together university presidents and decision-makers, which may affect the weight of ethics content in university AI curricula and talent development.