St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican will be transformed Tuesday into the canvas for a spectacular public art project designed to draw attention to climate change and endangered species.
Computer renderings of the images that will be projected onto the domed building provide a glimpse of what viewers in person and online will see as "Fiat Lux" unfolds starting at 7 p.m. Rome time.
"I think people are going to cry and be emotionally moved with how beautiful it is," Travis Threkel, one of the curators of the event, told NBC News as his team put the finishing touches on the production.
The light show has the blessing of Pope Francis, who released an encyclical on climate change earlier this year, said Louie Psihoyos, another curator and director of the film "Racing Extinction."
Fifty giant projectors situated on huge towers will turn the white facade of the basilica into a massive screen for colorful movie-like images of the world's creatures.
"It's kind of like if Michelangelo had Photoshop," Psihoyos joked.
In July and August, the team projected images of endangered animals onto the United Nations and the Empire State Building.
The expect the audience for the Vatican show — timed to coincide with the launch of the Catholic Church's yearlong Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy — to easily surpass those.
They hope the extravaganza will get people to pay more attention to the plight of the planet.
"You have to do something audacious to shock people ... to really grab their attention," Psihoyos said.
Fiat Lux will be livestreamed at this link on Tuesday: OurCommonHome.World
