Bendigo-based Roman Catholic priest, Father Rob Galea, is a musician and singer/songwriter with an international fan base that sees him mobbed when visiting some countries. The 33-year-old speaks with DAVID ADAMS…
Bendigo-based Roman Catholic priest, Father Rob Galea, is a musician and singer/songwriter with an international fan base that sees him mobbed when visiting some countries. The 33-year-old speaks about the challenges of being a priest with global recognition, the role of music in his ministry and his passion to reach young people…
IN SHORT – FR ROB GALEA
A Bible verse that’s influenced me…Jeremiah 29:11
A song that’s inspired me…Don’t You Worry Child by Swedish House Mafia (sung by Fr Rob on The X Factor)
A person whom I admire…Mother Teresa
You’ve been described as the “biggest pop star you’ve never heard of” but you’re also a priest in country Victoria. How do you balance the two?
“I, first of all, don’t see myself as a pop star, I don’t see myself as a performer. What is important for me, the reason I became a priest, is because of the people, to serve the people. I think one of the most beautiful things I get to do is I get to speak the language of the heart to so many people – music is the language of the heart…My vocation as a priest is to proclaim the Word, the Word of God, and to proclaim the sacraments of God and I think there’s no better way to do it than through music. And if what it takes is for me to be a celebrity, then I will do it. But it is certainly not my intention and my dream to be famous.”
So how do you keep grounded in the midst of what you do? You attend the gym – is that one way?
“I’m quite strict with a few things and I call them my four pillars. (First) is my prayer – everyday, a time of meditation and prayer. The second thing is my exercise so I try to train everyday at the gym no matter where I am – I go to India, I pack my shoes and (getting) off the plane, find the first gym to train in. The third thing is to surround myself with people who are down to earth; people who are my close friends and family. And the fourth thing is to make sure I get enough time to rest.”
And in the midst of that, you’ve been criticised for such things as taking “gym selfies”. Being in the public eye, how do you cope with criticism?
“There are always people who are ready to criticise and a lot of people who are offended by the priest’s humanity; they always try to see the priest as ‘up there’, someone transcendent, someone almost perfect so when someone is faced with the human image of a person in the gym, they get offended by me. Other people…are offended by me wearing the collar and wearing my vestments. So there’s always going to be a group of people that are not going to be happy. But, at the end of the day, I think what is important for me as a priest – and for me as human being also, is to connect with people through my humanity. People are not going to connect with God through my words and through my songs only but they also need to relate to the human person, the priest who is also a human. So this is why I do things like that. I would do whatever it takes – I’ll sing in pubs, I’ll write music for clubs, I’ll go to the gym and take gym selfies. I’m not going to be ashamed of being myself.”
How did you come to know you were called to the priesthood?
“You never know. It’s like when you married – how do you know you’ve found the right person? All you do know is that you’ve found a sense of peace and happiness and there’s this love that draws you; that pulls you towards this lifestyle…I decided when I was 21-years-old to enter the seminary because of a role model – a priest who was so full of life and who loved the priesthood so much. I just wanted to be like this guy. So that’s why I considered it. I continued pursuing it, entered the seminary and have never looked back. There are difficult days, there are difficult months, but…I find great peace and consolation in my choice.”
You grew up in Malta – what led you to minister in Australia?
“I came to Australia as a gap year…You see, I had a conversion experience when I was 16 and I was never really involved in the church so I came to Australia partly out of embarrassment that I didn’t want to get involved in the church…and realizing that I have no idea, even though I was so far into my seminary studies. So I came to Australia as a gap year to experience the church overseas and to start from scratch and learn and understand the practice within the church. And, as I did that, I fell in love with the people, I fell in love with the church here, I just fell in love with the lifestyle also of people. I think it’s my personality to want to reach out rather than to wait and sit in the church and wait for people to come in and so Australia sort of sits also with my desire and my vision of the way I felt I was called.”
Do you see yourself here long-term or will there be a day when you see yourself back in Malta?
“I can’t answer that – maybe a few months ago I thought I would stay here forever but now I just don’t know. All I can say is I am happy at the moment, I love serving here, I love that I get to travel and to minister all around the world. At the end of the day I know this is my place at this point in time.”
What about music, how did that start off in your life and what role does music play in your Christian faith?
“I started playing the guitar when I was 17-years-old out of necessity because at my parish church the youth group needed someone to play music and there was no-one. So I picked up the guitar and watched MTV and I just copied the musicians there. I would just bring the three or four chords I learned there and try and sing the Christian lyrics that are in the book. It was a bit of a disaster to start off with but I eventually got better at it and…people started to invite me to play at different places, nationally in Malta and then internationally, and in 2008 I got invited to sing for the pope and half a million people at World Youth Day. And from there I got a record deal with an Australian company and then it went to an American company. Now I am currently signed with an American record label.”
Of all those experiences, including the World Youth Day experience, what you are most grateful for?
“I’m just so happy and so grateful for the opportunity not just to play music but to play music with purpose. And the purpose is to give hope. So often I’m in a concert and I just see people with their hearts melting, really. You start off with people who are anxious and ‘what is this priest going to say?’ and all of sudden you play music and you’ve just spoken to their hearts. So, for me, whether I’m in a crowd of 10 or a crowd of half a million, I just want to speak hope to the hearts of people through music. So this is the thing I am most grateful for: to be able to communicate in the language of music and speak to hearts and give hope through music.”
“While I was at (The X Factor) boot camp…I realised that I was happy where I was. I didn’t need to be more, I didn’t need to achieve more and I just started to think ‘Look, I really love my life, I love where it is going, I love that I get to minister through music, I don’t need any more’. |
Earlier this year you went on the ‘boot camp’ phase of The X Factor but you decided to withdraw from the competition. What was it that drew you to go on the show and what made you decide to withdraw?
“The opportunity came when The X Factor came to Melbourne and I was encouraged by so many (to go on it) – very often after concerts people would come up and say ‘Why don’t you do The X Factor?’ or ‘Why don’t you do The Voice?’. There was an opportunity for me to audition for the Melbourne part of it. I thought…I don’t want to look back in 10 years time and think that I didn’t take an opportunity that came my way. So I went, I auditioned, I got through with four yeses and went through to boot camp. But while I was at boot camp…I just looked at the contestants and they were so passionate and they wanted to win so badly and I thought that was something so beautiful and something so incredible but…I also realised that I was happy where I was. I didn’t need to be more, I didn’t need to achieve more and I just started to think ‘Look, I really love my life, I love where it is going, I love that I get to minister through music, I don’t need any more’. That’s the first thing. But the second thing is also I realised once I was at boot camp was the price that I had to pay to be there and that was spending three-and-a-half months in this competition and having to give up the concerts and the youth ministry and the parish ministry that I loved doing so much.”
Tell us a little about Stronger Youth?
“When I first moved to Australia in 2006, one of the things I noticed that so many churches in the diocese, in my diocese…were devoid of young people. You walk into churches and it’s just what I call a beautiful sea of white and grey hair. And I thought ‘Well, why is that?’ and it’s obvious to me young people don’t feel they can connect with the church whereas, where I came from, in Malta, the church was full of young people…So we just started creating a youth space for young people – retreats and outreaches and concerts and it started very small and eventually now has become one of Australia’s largest Catholic young ministries. And it all started simply with just a small vision to create just a small space and now it’s across three different dioceses and it’s growing very fast. And the story behind it, the reason behind it, is to give these young people the opportunity to express their faith in a relevant environment in order to connect with the church…”
What do you think is the great challenge facing the church today – connecting with the next generation?
“I don’t think it’s the greatest challenge. I think the young generation are very open to the spiritual and they’re very open to God. I think one of the greatest challenges we are facing is to make the church uncomfortable. We as the church have become too comfortable…(and) over the last few years because of the abuse cases and all that has come up, we have started to get uncomfortable…Even though it is tragic, at the same time a lot of good can come out of this if we decide to basically get out of our seats, get out of our pews, and go out and make a difference…I think we need to get more in touch with our humanity as a church and at the same time be uncompromising in our relationship with God.”
What’s next for you musically – any new albums or tours?
“I’ll be writing and recording a few singles (including) a few singles with some guys from the Ministry of Sound. Also, I’m hoping to prepare for my American tour next year and I have a full tour schedule fully booked up really until mid-2018. So I’ll be preparing for that whilst continuing to work with Stronger and our parish. And in between that I need to write songs and I need to record songs, I need to write talks and prepare talks. I get to minister to over 200,000 young people every year and I think it’s such an honour and such a privilege and something that I don’t take lightly and I don’t take for granted.”
