Ascension Seton Announces Grand Opening of the Sistine Chapel Experience
Full-scale digital recreation of Michelangelo's masterpiece debuting in Austin December 9th
AUSTIN, Texas, Dec. 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Presenting Sponsor Ascension Seton is thrilled to announce the premier and grand opening of The Sistine Chapel Experience, a digital recreation of one of the world's most extraordinary cultural treasures, on December 9. Spanning nearly 25,000 square feet, the experience transforms a former retail center at Barton Creek Square Mall into the immersive Sistine Chapel Experience, powered by more than 50 state-of-the-art laser projectors, where moving light and projection transform every brushstroke in dazzling resolution. The chapel exhibit is a full-size replica of the actual Sistine Chapel, with the ceiling lowered from 68 feet to 18 feet, allowing visitors to stand just feet from the artwork as Michelangelo did while painting the frescoes – an encounter impossible even inside the Vatican itself.
The Sistine Chapel Experience is a collaboration between the Vatican Museums, Scripta Maneant, and Sistine Chapel Exhibits, LLC, a team of Texas-based founders working in partnership with Italy's leading art publishers. The Sistine Chapel Experience allows visitors in Austin to step inside a dynamic, cinematic recreation of Michelangelo's iconic frescoes – The Creation of Adam, The Last Judgment, and sixteen biblical scenes – alongside the works of Botticelli, Perugino, Ghirlandaio, Pinturicchio, Rosselli, and Signorelli.
"We're tremendously excited to bring this one-of-a-kind experience from Vatican City to America, and to open in Austin, Texas, just before Christmas," said Penn Parrish. "Prior to entering the chapel area, guests experience exquisite reproductions of key frescoes in our gallery and view an immersive and educational cinematic prelude that tells the fascinating history of the chapel. You'll be introduced to painters who created the frescoes and learn some of the details and characters added to tell stories from the Book of Genesis and the life of Jesus Christ from his baptism to his crucifixion and ascension into Heaven. Inside the chapel, guests are free to speak and take photos, both of which are prohibited in the actual Sistine Chapel. It is an experience unlike any other."
"As the Presenting Sponsor, Ascension Seton is honored to help bring this uplifting experience to our community and look forward to sharing the Sistine Chapel Experience with as many as possible," said Chad Raith, Chief Mission Integration Officer for Ascension Seton. "By making the transcendent beauty of one of the world's sacred spaces accessible without international travel, this exhibit offers our community an opportunity to experience the powerful art that has inspired people for centuries. It is a technical masterpiece that makes the technology invisible and brings the art to life while allowing visitors to appreciate its depth and meaning up close."
The Sistine Chapel ceiling is a dramatic retelling of the beginning of the world and humanity according to Genesis, surrounded by prophets, sibyls, ancestors of Christ, and powerful figures, all painted in vivid color and astonishing perspective by Michelangelo. Using more than 4 million images and 270,000 ultra-high-definition reproductions, the exhibit took over 65 days of photographic work to create, transforming the Renaissance artists' visions into a moving, immersive encounter that merges digital storytelling with centuries-old genius.
Visitors will move through three galleries that chronicle the artistic process, culminating in a cinematic environment that reveals hidden details invisible to the naked eye -- even for those who've visited Rome. They will also enjoy a cinematic prelude to the exhibit created by Hollywood legends and partners Gary Lucchesi (Million Dollar Baby, Primal Fear and Underworld) and James Younger (Through the Wormhole and The Story of God with Morgan Freeman).
In addition to the chapel recreation, visitors will encounter an authentic reproduction of a Gutenberg Bible and a full-scale replica of Michelangelo's Pietà, crafted with advanced sculptural materials faithful to the original, uniting two of the most sacred and historic works of human civilization under one roof.
Exhibition Details
- Dates: Opened December 5, 2025
- Location: Barton Creek Square Mall, 2901 S. Capital of Texas Hwy, Austin, TX 78746
- Hours: Wednesday–Sunday, 11 a.m.–7 p.m. (last entry 7 p.m.)
- Tickets: sistineexperience.com
- Duration: 45–90 minutes
- Accessibility: Fully ADA compliant; all ages welcome
- City of Austin Mayor Kirk Watson has proclaimed December 10th, 2025 as Sistine Chapel Experience Day
About Ascension: Ascension is one of the nation's leading non-profit and Catholic health systems, with a Mission of delivering compassionate, personalized care to all, with special attention to those most vulnerable. In FY2025, Ascension provided $1.7 billion in care of persons living in poverty and other community benefit programs along with $1.8 billion of unreimbursed care for Medicare patients. Across 15 states and the District of Columbia, Ascension's network encompasses approximately 97,000 associates, 23,100 aligned providers, 91 wholly owned or consolidated hospitals, and ownership interests in 29 additional hospitals through partnerships. Ascension also operates 26 senior living facilities and a variety of other care sites offering a range of healthcare services.
About Ascension Seton: Serving Texas for more than 120 years, Ascension operates 13 hospitals and 222 sites of care, employing 16,000 associates across Central Texas. Ascension operates Ascension Providence in Waco and Ascension Seton, which includes Dell Children's Medical Center, the region's only comprehensive children's hospital and pediatric Level I trauma center, and Dell Seton Medical Center at The University of Texas, the region's only Level I trauma center for adults. Ascension Seton partners with Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin and shares a common vision of transforming healthcare through a focus on quality and value. Ascension is a faith-based healthcare organization committed to delivering compassionate, personalized care to all, with special attention to persons living in poverty and those most vulnerable. On average, Ascension provides $540 million annually in charity care and community benefit across Central Texas. Visit www.ascension.org and www.dellchildrens.org.
About The Sistine Chapel Experience: The Sistine Chapel Experience is a collaboration between the Vatican Museums, Scripta Maneant, and Sistine Chapel Exhibits, LLC – a team of Texas-based founders working in partnership with Italy's leading art publishers. The project merges cultural preservation with immersive technology, bringing Michelangelo's world to modern audiences and positioning Texas as a global leader in experiential storytelling.
Media Opportunities
Interviews are available with Executive Producer Francesco Lori, Gary Lucchesi, James Younger and members of the Texas-based founding team, and art historians behind the project
MEDIA CONTACTS
For interviews, press access, or b-roll:
JT Graham or Laura Ladewig
Crosswind Media & Public Relations
media@crosswindpr.com
Photos & Gallery: sistineexperience.com | Where Art Meets Awe
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SOURCE The Sistine Chapel Experience