1
Chapter I
Gospel Pillar
Did the solution emerge from genuine spiritual discernment?
Catholic Robotics Olympiad for Science and Service
The olympiad that doesn't ask who won. It asks whom you served.
CROSS Olympiad invites teams of young people ages 10 to 18 from Catholic schools to design technology projects with artificial intelligence in service of vulnerable communities. Technique is evaluated. Faith is lived. The community served is the judge.
The heart of CROSS
Five Pillars. One olympiad.
Pedagogical expression of the five chapters of the Magnifica Humanitas encyclical.
2
Chapter II
Dignity Pillar
Does the design begin with the equal dignity of the person being served?
3
Chapter III
Greatness Pillar
Does the technology safeguard humanity rather than replace it?
4
Chapter IV
Stewardship Pillar
Did the school protect truth, dignified work, and freedom?
5
Chapter V
Love Pillar
Was the vulnerable community truly served and uplifted?
Illustrative image
A team's journey
Six months of real work before the event
- 1
Preparation
· Month 1The team forms, acquires tools, raises funds, and identifies its community.
- 2
Mission
· Months 2–4Three months of real fieldwork. The solution is built alongside the community.
- 3
Discernment
· Month 5Teams wishing to present in Panama submit their complete portfolio.
- 4
Testimony
· EventSelected missions travel to Panama to bear witness to what was already done.
- 5
Fidelity
· Months 6–7Commitment doesn't end in Panama. Service continues for two more months.
Ecclesial accompaniment
A journey the Church has accompanied from the start
CROSS walks under the pastoral care of the Archdiocese of Panama since June 2025, has the CIEC as a continental ally, and has received the institutional patronage of the Dicastery for Culture and Education of the Holy See.
Learn about our endorsementMagnifica Humanitas · Leo XIV · May 25, 2026
Inspired by the first magisterial document of Leo XIV
“The first choice is not between a 'yes' or a 'no' to technology, but between building Babel or rebuilding Jerusalem.”
— Magnifica Humanitas, §9
CROSS Olympiad was born in May 2025, one year before the encyclical's promulgation. Magnifica Humanitas did not found it — it confirmed it.
About the encyclical
© Vatican Media
12M+
students in Catholic schools across Latin America
<5%
of those schools have an active robotics lab
1st
robotics competition with explicit faith identity in the world
26
awards inspired by the Scriptures at every event
Walk with us
Founding Edition I: November 2026, Panama City. Your school can be part of the first CROSS generation.
Apply your school
