No Algorithm for a Miracle: What AI Can't Produce at Galilee 2026

By Fr. Hau, Director of Vocations, Diocese of San Bernardino

“Peace! Be still!” — Mark 4:39

Everybody is talking about Artificial Intelligence these days. Is it going to save the world? Is it going to take over the world? Depends on who you ask. AI can write you a song, paint you a picture, and plan your whole week. What it cannot do is forgive your sins, calm the storm in your heart, or fill a seminary lawn with more than five hundred young adults on a Saturday night.

So while the whole world debates what AI can and can’t do, we decided to keep doing the one thing only God can do...and on September 19, He did not disappoint. What He did was nothing less than extraordinary.

Catholic Coachella, year three

This was the third year of Galilee, our Catholic Music, Faith, and Art Festival... or, as the young adults lovingly call it, “Catholic Coachella.” And what we’re doing isn’t new. It’s exactly what every generation of the Church has done: bringing the sacred into places the secular world thought it owned. St. Paul preached at the Areopagus. Medieval Christians put the Gospel on stage in the town square. We put it on a festival stage...with lights, bands, food, and art... and we put God right at the center. This year, we came with full force.

The theme was Calming the Storm: Peace Is Calling. We chose it because the world needs peace, and if you talk to young adults for more than five minutes, you’ll hear it: they are craving peace in the middle of their storms. Anxiety, loneliness, uncertainty about the future, and a phone that never stops buzzing. So we did what the disciples did. We got into the boat, set out into the deep, and brought Galilee back to a sacred place: the grounds of our Serra House of Formation, where God is forming men to be future priests.

And he awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. — Mark 4:39

About those rumors

I’ll be honest with you. We take some flak for Galilee. Some say it’s “just pre-evangelization.” Others say it’s too Protestant. To that I can only say, with love: you haven’t been to Galilee yet. Because it is so much more than that.

Last I checked, most Protestant festivals don’t end the night with the Blessed Sacrament exposed in a 3 foot monstrance and ten priests hearing confessions. If that’s pre-evangelization, I would love to see what you call the main event. (lol)

And honestly, Galilee has always had its critics. In Jesus’ own day, the Pharisees said, “Search and you will see that no prophet is to rise from Galilee” (John 7:52). They were wrong about Galilee then, too. So to anyone who is unsure, I’ll just borrow St. Philip’s words to Nathanael: Come and see.

Why we called it Galilee

When Joe, my marketing specialist, and I first dreamed up Galilee, our first question wasn’t “How do we throw a great party?” It was “How do we create a space where people can experience God...through the music, through the art, and through the sacraments?”

Galilee is where Jesus spent so much of His public ministry, and where He performed more than twenty of His miracles. Why so many miracles? Because the people were struggling to believe, and every miracle was a sign pointing them back to the Father. We looked at our own time and thought: this generation needs a miracle too. And Jesus Himself told His disciples something bold before He left them:

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I go to the Father. — John 14:12

So we set out to take Him at His word.

What we envisioned was a place where people could grow in faith, love, and community...and a place where people could simply be themselves. No need to show off. No need to pretend to be someone you’re not. Just you, in front of like-minded and like-hearted people who are also looking for a deeper faith and a real community. In a world where everybody is curating their best self online, that alone is a small miracle.

We were hoping for a few fish

Here’s the truth: we were hoping for a few fish. But Jesus told Peter, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch” (Luke 5:4). So we trusted, and we cast far and wide.

And people came from everywhere. Los Angeles. Orange County. San Diego. Bakersfield. Barstow. Even Texas. (Texas! Someone drove from Texas for Catholic Coachella. I have friends who won’t drive from Riverside to Grand Terrace for tacos.)

We estimate more than 500 people came...most of them young adults. We were shocked by the numbers, and yet pleasantly surprised, because we knew that only God can do something like that. Joe’s marketing is excellent, but even Joe will tell you: no algorithm fills a lawn like that. That was grace.

Bands, booths, and 100 brave souls

And yes, there was plenty going on. We had vendors, food, artwork, live music, and all kinds of experiential activities designed to help people meet one another and build real relationships. We even had a speed dating portion, and I believe over 100 people participated. (Hey, I’m the Vocations Director. Marriage is a vocation too. I’m just doing my job. If any wedding invitations come out of this, I expect a good seat.)

The music was incredible, and I’m proud to say every band came from right here in our Diocese:

• Scotty Van Horn Band

• Silentsium

• Seen & Heard

They were awesome. Homegrown, Spirit-filled, and loud in all the right ways.

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The center of it all

But here’s what I really want you to know. All of that was wonderful...and none of it was the point. The heart of the evening was Jesus Christ, present in Holy Adoration, with ten priests offering the Sacrament of Confession. We ended the night the only way Galilee should end: with Jesus.

This is the part AI will never produce. It can generate a playlist, a poster, and a pretty decent speech. But it cannot absolve a single sin. It cannot bring a young adult to their knees before the Eucharist and let them finally feel at peace. It cannot calm a storm in a human heart. Only He can say, “Peace! Be still!"...and mean it.

What evangelization really looks like

Evangelization is when we are able to bring people together to encounter, know, and love Christ in a way that truly enriches their lives. That is exactly what happened at Galilee. Pope Benedict XVI said it beautifully: being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but “the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction” (Deus Caritas Est, 1).

There is no greater way to evangelize than the love of Christ. Galilee isn’t a festival where people leave with nothing but a good time. It’s a festival where people come to experience Christ in many different ways...and leave with a greater love for Him.

Festivals come and go. What stays is the One we love and adore — Jesus.

Our own Justice League (only better)

None of this happens without a team, and this year we had extra help from our two new coworkers, Molina and Archie, who jumped in like they’d been doing this for years. Together with Cecilia, Reyna, Joe, and our whole team ...plus our amazing YA volunteers, Abigail Monteon and Diego Renderos...we had ourselves a team like the Justice League. Only better.

The Justice League has capes and superpowers. We had clipboards, coffee, and the Holy Spirit...which, if you ask me, is the stronger lineup. (And thankfully, nobody showed up in spandex. lol) Every one of them gave their time and their hearts so generously, and every one of them knew exactly Who the real Hero of the night was.

So to our team and volunteers, to our bands and vendors, to the ten priests who heard confessions into the night, to everyone who came, and to everyone who prayed for this event...THANK YOU. You helped cast the net.

See you in 2027 (and maybe Indio)

Galilee 2027 is going to be even bigger and better, and we already have a long list of ideas for bringing people and community together. And here’s our dream: one day, we want to bring Galilee to Coachella itself. After all, Indio is in our Diocese too. Then we can truly say it: this is the Catholic Coachella, built on the faith of the people of the Diocese of San Bernardino.

If you were there, I’d love to hear what God did in your heart. If you weren’t, well… you heard what the Pharisees said about Galilee. Come and see. And to the young men who felt a little tug in their hearts before the Blessed Sacrament that night: that might be more than a feeling. You know where to find me.

Fr. Hau Director, Office of Vocations Diocese of San Bernardino

St. Junipero Serra House of Formation • Grand Terrace, CA