The pop legend, she of the 80's anthem Like a Prayer, has stirred controversy in recent weeks by posting deepfake images on social media which show the pontiff embracing her. It has fanned the flames of a debate which is already raging over the creation of AI art in which Pope Francis plays a symbolic, and unwilling, role.
The head of the Catholic church is used to being the subject of AI-generated fakery. One of the defining images of the AI boom was Francis in a Balenciaga puffer jacket. A remarkably realistic picture, it went viral in March last year and was seen by millions. Francis, however, did not see the funny side. He alluded to the Balenciaga image in a speech about AI in January where he warned about the impact of deepfakes.
"Fake news ... today can employ 'deepfakes', namely the creation and diffusion of images that appear perfectly plausible but false - I too have been an object of this," he said.
Other deepfakes include Francis draped in a Pride flag and holding a parasol on a beach. As with the Balenciaga image, they were created by the Midjourney AI tool.
The Italian digital artist behind the Madonna images, RickDick, told the Guardian he did not intend to cause offence with the pictures, which show Francis with his arm around the singer's waist and then embracing her. Another image on RickDick's Instagram page is more likely to offend, showing a photo of the pope's face seamlessly merged with that of Luigi Mangione, the alleged killer of the UnitedHealthcare chief executive, Brian Thompson.
RickDick said the Mangione image was intended to satirise the online obsession with the American, which is "elevating him to a god-like figure".
"My goal is to make people think and, if possible, smile," said the artist, who works under the moniker RickDick but declined to give his full name.
He said memes - viral images that are endlessly tweaked and recycled online - were our "new visual culture, and I find them fascinating for their ability to quickly communicate deep ideas".
The pope is an obvious target for deepfakes, according to experts, because there is such a vast digital "footprint" of videos, images and voice recordings related to Francis. AI models are trained on the open internet, which is stuffed with content featuring famous public figures, from politicians to celebrities and religious leaders.
"The pope is so frequently featured in the public eye and there are large volumes of photos, videos, and audio clips of him on the open web," said Sam Stockwell, a research associate at the UK's Alan Turing Institute.