Machina Sacra: Digital Procession Replaces Saint with Screen in Cilento

From July 8 to 12, 2026, artists Matteo Mandelli and Max Magaldi staged Machina Sacra, a digital procession in San Giovanni a Piro (SA), Cilento, as part of the MicroCosmi festival. The performance replaced a traditional saint effigy with an engraved screen, and participants carried smartphones instead of candles while chanting custom litanies. The work responded to Pope Leo XIV's encyclical Magnifica Humanitas on caring for the human person in the age of artificial intelligence. After a residency at Casa Ortega and community discussions on digital themes, the procession culminated in the Cappella del Carmine di Bosco for public viewing. Mandelli, whose research often merges the sacred and digital, described the project as an invitation to reflect on our relationship with technology without uncritical enthusiasm or fear. Magaldi, founder of MEMISSIMA festival, noted the performance was well received locally, with strong participation, but acknowledged that online reactions—including superficial and hostile comments—are part of the artwork's commentary on collective liturgy. Both artists use AI in their practice: Mandelli as a tool, not co-author, and Magaldi for experimentation, including vibecoding the software for Machina Sacra. The project explores how digital technology reshapes belief, relationships, and symbols.