MetaSaint: Catholic priest launches outreach on Roblox gaming platform
By Joseph Tulloch
Fr. Rob Galea has been working with young people for as long as he’s been a priest.
The Maltese-Australian artist sang in front of an estimated 500,000 people at World Youth Day in 2011, and went on to appear on Australia’s Got Talent. His non-profit ICON Ministry reaches between 1.7 and 2 million people every year through in-person speaking engagements, videos, and online liturgies.
As time has gone on, however, Fr. Galea has noticed that there’s one particular demographic he isn’t reaching: the so-called ‘Generation Alpha’, which ranges in age from zero to 13 years old.
Generation Alpha, Fr. Rob notes in an interview with Vatican News, is not on social media and is much less likely than older children to attend in-person events. This is “the COVID generation," he points out.
MetaSaint
Generation Alpha is, however, on Roblox, an online gaming platform counting more than 70 million active daily users. This inspired Fr. Galea to launch MetaSaint, a new interactive experience based in the Roblox universe.
Designed together with Dubit, a leading games studio, MetaSaint features a virtual 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.
At the end of the experience, they can decide whether they want to become a MetaSaint by lighting a virtual candle and receiving a pair of angel wings.
Child safety
The Maltese-born priest details the great efforts that have been made to ensure that the children are safe throughout their time using MetaSaint.
Although Roblox has its own child safety measures, he says, the platform is notorious for grooming. For this reason, MetaSaint has introduced further measures, including disabling almost all interaction between users.
Launch ahead of Easter
The game is scheduled to launch on Holy Thursday 2024, just ahead of Easter.
“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.”
“I want to ask your readers,” he concludes, “to pray for us, because we sow the seeds and then God bears the fruit. Pray for us and for these young people that get to interact with this game.”
You can learn more about MetaSaint here.
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