Episcopal church by day.

Light-filled, multi-sensory arts experience by night.

For almost three months this summer, Saint John’s Cathedral in Denver will be home to “Celestia,” a seated, immersive installation that uses projection mapping and an original orchestral score to transform the historic 1911 church into a 360-degree, 3D living canvas Thursdays through Sundays. On Fridays and Saturdays, an eight-person vocal ensemble from the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver will also perform.

It opens Thursday and runs through Sept. 6 at 1350 N. Washington St. Tickets are $23-$64. Go online to celestiaexperience.com.

There is no straightforward narrative to the 45-minute experience, nor is it religious. The show is themed around the Gothic Revival architectural style of the building, which is steps away from the capitol building.

The Gothic style focuses on light and was created during medieval times to bring more light in, says “Celestia” spokesperson Fanny Curtat.

“We weave in a grand theme of almost a hero’s journey,” she said. “Awakening, belonging, transforming – things that can be individualistic and then transcend and be universal. The goal is to have something abstract and contemplative so everyone can see their own journey in it.”

Through projection mapping, attendees will be immersed in light-filled images: starlight, a sunrise, a garden with animals, the aurora borealis. One scene highlights the cathedral’s stained glass windows by master artists from the Edward Frampton studio in London and Charles J. Connick studio in Boston.

“It’s everything light can be: sunlight, inner light, starlight,” Curtat said. “All things that match and swell with the architecture.”

Projection mapping is the use of multiple projectors working at the same time to seamlessly cover the church in imagery and light.

“You don’t feel like you’re looking at a screen,” Curtat said. “It feels like the church is transforming into a canvas.”