Generated with Microsoft Designer

The bizarre idea has been brought to light in a new biography by journalist Elise Ann Allen, which is out now in Spanish and to be published in English next year.

The Pope said: “Someone recently asked authorisation to create an artificial me so that anybody could sign on to this website and have a personal audience with the Pope.

“This artificial intelligence pope would give them answers to their questions, and I said, ‘I’m not going to authorise that.’”

He said the Pope was “high on the list” of people “who should not be represented by an avatar”, according to the National Catholic Reporter.

In the interview, Pope Leo XIV goes on to express concern about the impact of AI on jobs, saying it was “one of the issues in the back of my mind in why I chose the name Leo”.

Pope Leo XIII was noted for his role in promoting workers’ rights and social issues during the industrial revolution.

The Catholic Church is “not against the advances of technology” but did not want to see the “human heart… lost in the midst of the technological development, as things are going right now”, Pope Leo XIV said.