Valorem Reply and Azure bring global access to an iconic religious site

January 6, 2026

Valorem Reply created a digital twin of Saint Peter’s Basilica using the power of Azure, making it accessible to anyone, anywhere with an internet connection and a device.

A Jubilee, or Holy Year, is a special time of grace when the Catholic Church invites people to seek forgiveness and reconciliation. Traditionally, the faithful are encouraged to make a pilgrimage to Rome—but with over a billion Catholics worldwide, that can mean huge crowds at the Vatican’s holy sites, which risks damaging them and dangerous overcrowding. And, for many, traveling to Rome simply isn’t possible due to time or financial constraints.

But what if people could experience Saint Peter's Basilica without ever setting foot in Rome? That was the challenge presented to Valorem Reply in 2025, which was a Jubilee year.

"The Vatican recognized that there are two billion Catholics in this world, most of whom were not coming to the Jubilee. And they wanted to have a unique and immersive experience for the world and for the people who can't actually make it to the Basilica and walk through for themselves. Nothing like this had ever been done before," said Ryan McCamy, Lead, Tech for Social Impact at Valorem Reply.

The Vatican sought to highlight Saint Peter's Basilica for the Jubilee by creating both an on-site exhibition and a global digital experience. The web experience offers several entry points: a historical storytelling section that traces the Basilica's origins and significance, a virtual tour covering 30–40 points of interest focused on art and architecture, and an interactive 3D model (the digital twin) built from 400,000 high-definition images captured by a partner vendor.

With pontifical approval, Valorem Reply set forth

Creating a digital twin of Saint Peter’s Basilica required meeting with a Roman cardinal, flying drones inside the Basilica, and the capture and storage of 400,000 digital images in Azure. After careful review, Pope Francis, who passed in 2025, greenlit the project with Valorem Reply leading the charge.

Democratizing faraway experiences through cloud rendering

Ensuring universal accessibility was a core priority for the project, and Valorem Reply aimed to deliver an immersive, innovative experience unlike anything created before. They ingested the collected data into an Azure-based model and rendered it as a fully accessible 3D experience. Thanks to Azure’s flexible rendering capabilities, the experience can be viewed on virtually any device, without the need for high-end hardware.

"The power of Azure takes all that load off the end user, allowing them to just interact through a mobile phone orwhatever they happen to have," said McCamy. "Only Microsoft could bring the technical expertise and computing power to take that amount of data and turn that into a usable experience for anyone."

Whether using a tablet, a mobile phone, or a laptop, users can explore the digital environment with ease.

An outcome embraced by visitors and the Catholic Church alike

The digital twin of Saint Peter’s Basilica has been a remarkable success, drawing praise from visitors, the Catholic Church, and others interested in history, culture, and art—highlighting the project’s impact on accessibility and education. But the success of this project extends beyond the Vatican and its visitors.

The 400,000 high-resolution images of Saint Peter’s Basilica comprise the most detailed visual record of the site ever produced and presented an opportunity to assess microstructural irregularities like small cracks, supporting ongoing preservation and maintenance efforts. The project demonstrated how the combination of drone imagery and AI can advance preservation not only for historic landmarks like the Vatican, but also for modern infrastructure such as bridges by enabling regular evaluations of structural integrity. Although this type of preservation effort was not Valorem Reply’s primary objective, the data collected delivered significant added value for long-term conservation and monitoring.

Continuing the mission of accessibility, preservation, and storytelling with Azure

Building on the success of Saint Peter’s Basilica, Valorem Reply is exploring opportunities to bring their approach to other basilicas, art institutions, and even outdoor environments. They are beginning a storytelling experience with the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, focusing on immersive digital presentations of documents and history. By leveraging AI and Azure-based solutions, the team aims to create interactive experiences that combine education, accessibility, and preservation, demonstrating the potential to make historic sites and cultural treasures globally accessible while supporting their long-term care and study.