Madonna has sparked controversy and caused quite a stir by sharing AI-generated images of herself with Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church.

In the images, the singer, 66, poses in a corset and lace top as the religious leader wraps his arms around her.

It comes after years of the singer’s complicated relationship with the Roman Catholic Church.

AI Digital Artist Rick Dick posted the images and the Like a Prayer hitmaker re-shared them on her Instagram stories to her millions of followers.

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“Going into the weekend like…..” Madonna captioned one photo.

“Feels Good to Be Seen……” she wrote underneath the other.

Rick Dick wrote underneath the post: “MA.I.DONNA AND THE POPE Thank you @madonna ❤️‍🔥.”

Underneath, the AI artist received a mixed reaction from followers, with some saying it was disrespectful to the Pope and church, known for priestly celibacy, and others supporting the work.

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“Disrespect,” one person wrote.

“Do not post things that offend God and the faith of millions of people, have more respect, do not repost lies and do not create lies with artificial intelligence,” another said.

“It’s funny and pathetic at the same time,” another wrote. 

Madonna, born Madonna Louise Ciccone, has had a rather complicated relationship with the Roman Catholic Church over the years.

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The singer, who often wears cross necklaces on the red carpet, was born to Catholic parents in Michigan.

But in recent years, she turned to Kabbalah, which is rooted in Jewish mysticism, having being pictured wearing a red string around her wrist in the early 2000s.

Her film clip for Like a Prayer, released in 1989, was controversial as it featured burning crosses and religious imagery. It was so controversial, the Vatican condemned it.

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Pope John Paul II asked Italian Catholics at the time to shun the hitmaker and later the Vatican tried to block her tour through Italy in 1990.

Madonna said in part at the time: ”I think I’m offending certain groups, but I think that people who really understand what I’m doing aren’t offended by it.”

The singer previously spoke about Pope Francis during one of her shows in 2015 and said he “seems very open-minded” and dedicated a song to the “Popey-wopey”.

She also joked “he’s a copycat or he’s secretly in love with me” about him being in New York at the time, where she had previously performed.

“I’ve been excommunicated from the Catholic Church three times. It shows the Vatican really cares,” she joked.

The latest controversy comes two months after Madonna confirmed the death of her beloved brother Christopher Ciccone, saying “he was the closest human to me for so long”.

“Its hard to explain our bond. But it grew out of an understanding that we were different and society was going to give us a hard time for not following the status quo,” she wrote.

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