We live in such a busy world that some people don’t even have the time to go to church anymore. Luckily, there’s the Pray-O-Mat, a converted old photo booth that features 300 pre-recorded prayers and incantations in 65 different languages, and lets you get your blessing on the go.
Waiting for the service at the local church or temple takes time, and in this day and age that’s a valuable commodity. But thanks to German artist Oliver Sturm, you don’t have to skip out on getting closer to the supreme being you happen to be worshiping. Known as the “Gebetomat” in Germany, the ingenious device has been branded as a “Pray-O-Mat” for its transition to England, where it’s gotten quite a lot of attention since being installed at the University of Manchester, as part of a study into “multi faith spaces”.
So how does a Pray-O-Mat machine work? It’s pretty simple really – you step into the photo booth and instead of having a bunch of passport photos taken, you insert a 50 eurocent coin and pick between 300 pre-recorded prayers and chants, via touchscreen. No matter what you believe in, the Pray-O-Mat has something for you . You can listen to five minutes of “Our Father” in several different languages, hear Aborigine Devotional songs and even prayers for rain from around the world. Most of the prayers were collected by Sturm himself, but some have been found in radio archives.
