The core ambition of the project, born from an interaction design course, was to craft something eternal in our super fast moving digital landscape.

• Data Acquisition: Daily saint information is obtained through an API (Application Programming Interface) from “santodelgiorno.com.” A surprising detail is noted: the website is not actually run by the Vatican, highlighting the increased accessibility of information that was once mostly held by religious institutions.
• Interactive Element: A slider with these almost mystical sounding keywords, such as miracle and prayer, is included. Moving the slider would enrich the daily saint’s description somehow, adding a layer of user engagement and allowing users to view each saint through a slightly different lens beyond just the basic facts.
• AI Integration: A large language model (LLM) is used to generate imaginative prompts based on the saint’s name and the keyword chosen with the slider. An example provided is Saint Rita, late bearer among the ruins of a cyberpunk city invaded by archangel drones, showcasing a wild and imaginative reinterpretation.
• AI Image Generation: AI image generation systems, specifically stable diffusion and comfy TD tools, are used to generate these unique daily visuals of the saint from the AI-generated text prompts. The results are sometimes unexpected, a bit quirky artistically, reflecting the nature of creative AI.
• Historical Roots: The practice has roots even before Christianity, in the Roman “Numina Tuttilleria,” or guardian spirits, on which early Christian saint veneration was built. This fostered a sense that a community almost possessed a saint.
• Importance of Relics: Having a saint’s relics, or physical remains, was absolutely crucial, as communities believed it ensured special favor, special protection. It was seen as a reciprocal agreement, where the community offered reverence and the saint was expected to step in when needed, interceding for them.