The project has strong credits, including director David Hansen and executive producer Enzo Sisti, a native of Rome, Italy, who was executive producer of The Passion of the Christ.
This wouldn't be appropriate to use at a Catholic Mass, of course, Lauer noted, but for other Christian churches which do sometimes use screens at their services and during their preaching, Lauer sees Jesus VR as something that "should aid the pastor," not replace them.
The media is very detailed, aiming to be true to how it really would have been, Lauer said. At the Sermon on the Mount for example, "there was still normal life... kids hungry and crying – real life was happening."
In a scene which depicts Jesus telling the parable of the Good Samaritan, there are details which you'll only see if you look around or behind you, such as some people watching nearby who end up walking away.
Because we're so busy, it can be easy to "miss Jesus manifesting in our lives," Lauer said. They've worked even these little details into the film because it "makes for great reflection, for great teaching."
Jesus VR is scheduled to be released in time for Christmas on the main virtual reality platforms, including Google Cardboard, Samsung Gear, Oculurs Rift, Playstation VR and HTC Vive.
"What's most exciting for me is we're taking a message of antiquity that's being delivered in the most modern technology," Lauer said. "It's a message of yesterday, today – but actually, it's a message of today too."
For Lauer, Jesus Virtual Reality is another way of living out St. Pope John Paul II's call for the "New Evangelization." As Lauer pointed out, "It can't get more new than Virtual Reality."
Hannah Brockhaus is Catholic News Agency's senior Rome correspondent. She grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and has a degree in English from Truman State University in Missouri.