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It’s been a while since we heard any musical releases from Fr. Rob Galea, the Maltese-Australian priest who became an international sensation after performing on Australia’s The X Factor. This is because after releasing six full length albums – one of them live – and numerous singles, Fr. Rob has taken a break from music to start a new ministry, and it’s taking the name of Jesus Christ to a new frontier.
Icon Ministry
Fr. Rob Galea has removed his name from FRG (Fr. Rob Galea) Ministry to rebrand into Icon Ministry. He explained in a February video that the name was selected in reference to the first icon: the cloth St. Veronica handed Jesus while he carried his cross to Calvary so that he could wipe his face.
Fr. Rob commented in the video:
“Jesus is, once again, the icon of God. As a ministry, this is what we want to do: We want to proclaim Jesus. We want to raise Jesus the icon over all that we do and tell the world about Jesus.”
Established as a non-profit, Icon Ministry is already benefiting from Fr. Galea’s previous legwork, with an estimated reach between 1.7 and 2 million between his in-person speaking engagements, videos, and online presence. This reach has a vast potential for growth, however, as Fr. Galea is about to launch new ministerial efforts in the online gaming platform Roblox, where the majority of players hail from the Alpha Generation, those aged 13 and under.
Roblox
In an interview with Vatican News, Fr. Rob called this the “COVID generation,” noting that they are much less likely to attend in-person events. While online evangelization efforts were identified to be ideal for reaching this generation, another hurdle is that they do not tend to be as active online in social media as Gen Z. This means that reaching them will take some out-of-the-box thinking, and that’s when they landed on Roblox.
Roblox is an online platform that empowers users to make their own video games – from set design, to story, and even game mechanics – and allows games to be shared with other users to play. According to Demand Stage the game has 70.2 million daily players, and over 216 million active users monthly. Of these, Skillademia estimates that about 23% of players are aged 9-12 with 67% of users under the age of 16.
MetaSaint
Fr. Rob teamed up with Dubbit, a leading games studio, to create a new game called MetaSaint, through the Roblox platform. It features a beautifully designed in-game cathedral with space for prayer, reflection, and reading Scripture. Users can also play games and collect treasure, as well as visit scenes from the Bible. The game is designed to offer an encounter or spark a connection with Jesus to those who might not have the opportunity offline.
“With Roblox's unprecedented reach among the youth, we see a fertile ground, not just for play, but for planting seeds of faith,” Icon Ministry states on its website. “Unlike other platforms, Roblox has yet to see the Gospel flourish — and we're set to change that narrative. This initiative is about illuminating the digital realm with the enduring light of the Gospel, fostering a community where curiosity about Jesus can bloom into a beautiful journey of faith.”
Immersion in faith
MetaSaint seeks to create a space for users to explore the Catholic faith that is said to offer immersion in the story of salvation, an exploration of the beauty of faith, and a fun gaming experience.
As the game is geared towards children, user safety has been one of the primary concerns in MetaSaint’s development. Fr. Rob has taken extra care to protect the younger players, expanding on Roblox’s on-board child safety measures, such as disabling interaction between users. This choice not only presents additional safeguards to the game, but it will prevent users from being distracted from the experience of the game by other users – allowing for more consistent immersion – while eschewing any potential trolls from bringing chaos to the game.
MetaSaint is scheduled to launch on March 28, 2024, which is Holy Thursday. Fr. Rob explained to Vatican News that Holy Week is the perfect time to launch a new Christian video game:
“The reality is,” Fr Galea says, “that these 70 million young people -- a lot of them won't be going to church [at Easter], they won't be hearing the Gospel. So we thought this was the most opportune time to bring the Church to them, to bring the gospel to them.”
Visit MetaSaint’s official website to learn more about the game, a pioneering step into a new frontier of evangelization.
