71. From X Factor To The Altar: Singing Priest Father Rob Galea on how to evangelize Generation Alpha

Father Rob Galea: Why I Quit X Factor and Chose Christ and the Priesthood -
An Inspiring Journey from Darkness to Divine Light

Join us for an extraordinary episode of the Veil +Armour Podcast, where host Sheila Nonato dives deep into an inspiring conversation with Fr. Rob Galea, an award-winning singer, songwriter, and Roman Catholic priest from Australia. Discover Fr. Rob's harrowing yet transformative journey from addiction and gang life to finding peace and purpose through Jesus Christ. Learn about Generation Alpha, the unique challenges they face, and how innovative evangelization methods like the Meta Saint game on Roblox are spreading the Gospel in unexpected places. Plus, hear how Fr. Rob's decision to leave X Factor to follow God's call has led him to reach millions worldwide.

Don't miss this compelling story of hope, faith, and the power of prayer!

IMPORTANT: Mental Health Resources:
If you are in mental health distress, please see your doctor, trusted health professional or go to your nearest hospital without delay.

Some online resources:
To find a country resource:
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Canada:
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The United States
https://samhsa.gov/find-help/helplines/national-helpline

Fr. Rob Galea's Autobiography is "Breakthrough: A Journey from Desperation to Hope"
https://www.frrobgalea.com/home#booksAnchor

Fr. Rob Galea's Ministry can be found here: Please consider supporting this very important ministry! Thank you + God bless!
https://frrobgalea.com
https://iconministry.com
https://www.youtube.com/@UCKBL7GTDGu8se5Wml5n85WA
https://www.x.com/@frrobgalea
https://www.instagram.com/@frrobgalea
https://www.youtube.com/c/FRGMinistry

Fr. Galea's music is available on YouTube Music, Spotify, Apple Music
https://open.spotify.com/artist/06IDfxOlt4pw1j2oflOFo1
https://music.apple.com/ca/artist/fr-rob-galea/461775664
Outside the Chapel podcast is available on all podcasting platforms
https://outsidethechapel.com
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/fr-rob-galea-homilies/id1534833068

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Transcript

Opening: Gen Alpha And Faith

Fr. Rob Galea 0:00

Opening clip: We have a generation called the Alpha Generation. You've heard of Generation Z. After Generation Z comes Generation A, Generation Alpha. And they are the COVID generation. They are the generation that are the most introverted generation. But they're also the generation that don't don't socialize. They don't they're not in our churches. They're not on Instagram because their parents are on Instagram. They're not on, um, they're, they're not on TikTok because their parents are on TikTok. They're they even their grandparents are on Instagram. So and Facebook, not even registered, in two places. They're they're in they're on YouTube, and they're on a place called Roblox. And they're on this platform, this metaverse platform, which can destroy these young people. It can destroy their minds, there's a lot of grooming, there's a lot of danger there. And so we thought, okay, this is where young people are, the generation A are. Where's the church? Where's the church? Yeah. And so we designed a game called MetaSaint, where we literally lead true a game for a professional game for you rather than it's a Christian game that by looking at the gaming, it's an incredible game. So they're met at the door by Carlo Accultis, by Saint Augustine, and by Mother Teresa. And they're taken to seven windows where they discover the Old Testament, the New Testament, and then at the end of it, they get to make a decision. Do I want to become a Metastate? And that is, do I want to follow Jesus? Do I want to surrender my life to Jesus?

Sheila Nonato 1:34

INTRO: Hello, Sisters in Christ. This week we're entering Septuagesima Sunday, meaning 70 days before Easter, marking the start of the three-week pre-Lenten season in the traditional Catholic and Anglican calendars. It's known among the Greeks as the Sunday of the Prodigal from the Gospel of Luke, chapter 15, verses 11 to 32. In this episode, we have such an incredible story of conversion, echoing the Prodigal Son's transformation and God revealing his unconditional love. And this week we look back at this conversation I had with Father Rob Galea, an award-winning singer, songwriter, and Roman Catholic priest from Australia.

Sheila Nonato 2:17

He tells his remarkable story of conversion from escaping gangs to dealing with severe depression to wowing audiences at the X Factor Australia, and his journey to the priesthood. Father Galea and Icon Ministry have reached millions of youth on their social media platforms and podcasts, concerts and retreats across continents.

Sheila Nonato 2:42

L et's hear Father Galea introduce himself, how he gave his life to Jesus, and in the second half of our conversation, why did he leave X Factor and chose Christ? Now he is evangelizing Gen Alpha, Generation Alpha. What does that mean for us Catholic parents? How do we see the culture war and how do we win with Christ?

Sheila Nonato 3:09

Friends, before we start this conversation, I just want to let you know that we do discuss mental health and depression. And you will want to have your earbuds on if your children are around. If you are experiencing mental health distress, please contact your doctor or your trusted health professional. And I will try to have resources in the show notes for you if you are interested. Thank you so much. Have a blessed week. God bless.

Septuagesima And Prodigal Framing

Sheila Nonato 3:38

PODCAST INTRO: Hello and welcome to the Veil in Armour Podcast. This is your host, Sheila Nanato. I'm a stay-at-home mom and a freelance Catholic journalist. Seeking the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the inspiration of Our Lady, I strive to tell stories that inspire, illuminate, and enrich the lives of Catholic women to help them in living out our vocation of raising the next generation of leaders and saints.

Co-Host 4:02

Please join us every week on the Veil in Armour Podcast, where stories come alive through a journalist's land and mother's heart.

Fr. Rob Galea 4:09

My name is Father Rob Galea, and this is me in just a minute. By the age of 13, I began to rebel and lived a life of addiction and violence, and at 16, was suicidal. At 17, I had an encounter with Jesus, and that changed my life forever. I wanted to help young people to know and to love Jesus just like I did. As a seminarian, I moved to Australia for a year, and there I got invited to sing for the vote and half a million people.

Fr. Rob Galea 4:55

After that event, I began to get invitations to speak and sing about Jesus all over the world. I saw people everywhere returning to Jesus and his church and even entering seminaries to study for the preschool. In 2010, I was ordained a Catholic priest and then returned back to Australia. Today I'm more determined than ever to find dynamic, engaging, and relevant ways to reach out to people to help them know and love and serve Jesus.

Sheila Nonato 5:32

Okay, just stay there. This is Father Galea. What's your name? James. James. This is James.

Fr. Rob Galea 5:51

Hi James. Nice to see you.

Sheila Nonato 5:53

Good morning, Father Galea. Thank you so much for joining us on the Veil and Armour podcast. It's an honor to have you, and I think. So you are a priest in the Sandhurst Diocese in Australia, is that correct?

Meet the Singing Priest, Father Rob Galea

Fr. Rob Galea 6:11

Yes, that's correct. So I work in the Sandhurst Diocese. I work as a priest here, which is in

Speaker 1 6:18

regional Victoria, Australia. But also most of my work is working through Icon Ministry. So I actually only work in the parish one or two days a week, and the rest of the time I'm on the road and reaching out to young people in particular.

Sheila Nonato 6:35

Okay, awesome. And I have your book, an amazing story (called) "Breakthrough." Can you tell us in the book you were talking about the difficulties you had as a teen? What what were those difficulties and how did that affect your relationship with your parents? Well, when I was a teenager, 13 years old, not to go into the entire story, actually, as it you see, there is a book that explains it more thoroughly, but at 13 years old I ran away from home due to a series of misunderstandings, of of fights with my parents. And my Dad was always extremely strict, and so I always felt that I wasn't good enough, I wasn't strong enough, I wasn't um loved enough.

Sheila Nonato 7:22

And so at 13 years old I ran away, ended up living on the streets, ended up an addict until I was about 17 years old. And it was at this place that I had reached the total end of myself where I didn't want to live anymore, I didn't want to um to face another day. And uh by this time I was addicted to a lot of drugs, I was addicted to stealing, I was also hanging out with a gang that used to be into a lot of violence. And so I I was quite violent at the age of 17 where we would literally beat people up to their their last breath and then walk away. It was and every time I would just um come to this place and just feel so sad because deep down I wanted to to help people, I wanted to love people.

Sheila Nonato 8:11

I remember when I was about 12 years old, I I won a prize at school for the most altruistic student in my entire school of 2,000 students, and here I was just beating people half to death and and stealing from them and dealing drugs and in in this place of darkness. And all I cared about was just being appreciated by my friends. And this eventually turned against me because uh these friends that were supposed to support me um all of a sudden turned against me, and so I was running for my life where I ran at I ran home back to my parents' home, and it was at this moment that it was the worst moment of my life where I attempted to end my own life a couple of times.

Sheila Nonato 8:56

But it was again at this darkest moment where I reached the end of myself that I discovered um I discovered my relationship with Jesus. I and it all came from a memory, a silly memory, and it was a memory of my mama, busy washing dishes. I was about four years old, just pestering my mom as she was trying to to wash the dishes. But she every time I noticed something in this memory, she was she was washing the dishes, and every time she'd throw her hands in the air and argue to the wall. Like I got I I didn't think much of it, but I thought, wait a minute, is she crazy? Well why is she arguing with the wall? But it was a time, a a very difficult time for my mum at that time. And I realized at that moment, in my darkest moment, when I was harming myself physically, when I was just wanting to end my own life, that memory, God brought that memory into my heart to show me how my mother's struggle and my mother's crying out to God.

Sheila Nonato 9:58

And so I did the same. I remember looking at the wall and just arguing with the wall the same way my mama did and saying, God, if you are there, please save me. Please save me. And it was a series of little miracles. In hindsight, at the time I didn't see it, little miracles that eventually led me to a youth group, and from the youth group, eventually to a community of of young people that helped me get out of my addiction, but most importantly, pointed me to the most important person in my life today, and that is Jesus.

Teen Rebellion, Addiction, Despair

Sheila Nonato 10:31

And so I live my life, this is why I evangelize, this is why I do what I do, because I cannot keep quiet about what Jesus has done in my life. And so I, by the grace of God, through icon ministry, we now reach about two and a half to four million young people across the world. And we do this through

Fr. Rob Galea 10:51

talks, through outreach, through even video games, because I I will stop at nothing to try and give our young people the same hope that I received when I was 17 years old. How I wish there was someone telling me what I am telling our young people across the world.

Sheila Nonato 11:12

That's amazing. In the book you were talking about praying, and you you had two chairs and one was for Jesus, and you saw you saw Jesus sitting there, and you were you were talking to him, you were praying to him, and you saw him crying. What can you tell us what what what happened?

Fr. Rob Galea 11:33

Well, one I had started going to this youth group, and um I don't want to make it out to be like some um mystical excuse me, some mystical experience because it was quite ordinary. It was like in my imagination, but I believe that God uses imagination. Now I was used to hallucinating because I was an addict, okay? So but I had been off the drugs for a while, so I was no longer on any any kind of drugs. Plot, I was going to this youth group, and so I was at the youth group, and they encouraged us to pray. And one day I heard this preacher, this medical doctor, but he was a preacher also, started to talk about Jesus, as though he had known him, as though he had a coffee with him that morning.

Fr. Rob Galea 12:16

This was so strange to me, like to hear someone talk about Jesus in this way. So I go back to my room, the same place where I would self-harm, the same place where I had those very suicidal thoughts. I go to my room and I sit down on a chair, and I put another chair in front of me. And I as I sit on the chair, I tap the chair in front of me, I say, Jesus, sit down, because I want to talk to you, I want to know you like that doctor knows you. I want to have this coffee with you, I want to have this relationship with you. And as I was going to the youth group, I saw everyone with so much joy and so much peace, and I so desperately, so desperately wanted this joy. I wanted, I needed this peace.

Fr. Rob Galea 13:00

A nd it seemed to me, it made logical sense, that their peace came from this relationship, this this this this Jesus that this doctor was talking about. And so I sat down on the chair, I tapped the chair in front of me, I said, Jesus, sit down. I'll be honest with you, I didn't feel a thing. I didn't sense a thing. And I was disappointed. I was disappointed. And so I go about my day, but throughout that day, all of a sudden, I had peace. All of a sudden I had this sense of hope. And I started to think, wow, this what's going on here? And so the next day, and the addict I was, I went for the next high.

Fr. Rob Galea 13:39

So I sat down on the chair again and I said, I I want this again. I want this peace again, I want this joy again. And so I sat down and I spoke to the chair. Again, I didn't feel anything. But throughout my day, the peace followed me, the joy followed me everywhere I went. And so slowly I started to become familiar with this joy, familiar with this peace, and and familiar also with spending time with Jesus. But one day I was sitting down in my chair, and I did feel something while I was sitting down on that chair. I felt there was someone sitting on that chair. I could almost see this person, I could sense this person. And I remember just looking at my door, the door I went to lock my my bedroom door because this was too real, this was too crazy, and I was scared my parents would walk in and I didn't know what was going on.

Fr. Rob Galea 14:30

This and but I I looked at this person and I I got angry. I really got angry because I saw what I imagined was Jesus there, but I I didn't realize how angry I was at Jesus. I was angry because he he allowed me to go through this addiction, he allowed me to go through all of this pain, this suffering, my grandparents had died as well. I I didn't know why God would allow all of this. I stood up and I started shouting at this chair and really angry. But as I looked at this chair, almost in tears, I see this figure, Jesus, with a tear coming down his face. And this broke me. This broke me, and I I remember I just fell to my knees and I cried for about two hours, plus or even more than two hours.

Fr. Rob Galea 15:19

And I was it started with a slow cry and then a louder cry and a louder cry to the point where I had to get a pillow and hold it to my face because I I was screaming crying. And at first it was a cry of of sadness. Because you see, when I I I looked at this person crying, I realized that this tear that they were crying was not a tear of of of disappointment or shame or because I was bullying them, but because this person saw my mess and still loved me. And still loved me. And it was like the first time I experienced an unconditional love. And for some this might seem strange, but it was so real to me, so real to me.

Fr. Rob Galea 16:05

And I started crying, and it was a cry of of sorrow, of pain, of of unworthiness, and then eventually it turned to a cry of of repentance and and sorrow for my sins, and then eventually turned into something a cry uh of joy, and then at the end, this cry of love, and the laugh was so loud, it was so powerful, that I thought I literally thought I was going to die because my heart felt like it was going to explode. And to the point where I felt I had to, my prayer was God, please stop because I'm going to die. Please stop because my heart is going to explode. And I remember standing up after that experience, and it wasn't a feeling of, wow, this is amazing.

Fr. Rob Galea 16:52

My first thought after crying for two hours, two and a half hours, I stood up and I thought, okay, Jesus, how am I gonna tell the world about this? How am I going to tell people about this? Well, that's all I cared about. It became from this love experience, this repentance experience, this wanting to change my life around. And I did turn my life around. I went to confession and that I turned my life around. But this burden to tell people, and I did tell people, and they thought I was crazy.

A Memory Leads To Prayer

Fr. Rob Galea 17:21

T hey thought I was mad, but I couldn't keep it to myself. Eventually, I learned and I uh I worked on the craft of evangelization, the craft of telling people. So I started writing songs about my love for God. And from songs I learned how to I used to watch preachers on YouTube and and try and learn how they preached, how they communicated. And eventually I I started to work on the craft of also media and new media to tell the world about this love that I have and God has for me. And I haven't stopped. This is over this was over 20 years ago. And today I I am more passionate than ever, more driven than ever to tell people about the love of Jesus.

Sheila Nonato 18:08

That's that's amazing. Um you know, your your music, uh the first time I heard praise and worship, this was many years ago, I was 19 or 20. My friend had brought me to this praise and worship. It it was Protestant, but anyway, um, I'd never seen anyone singing for God. And actually, it was not in a good part of town that we were in. This was in Quebec. Um and some of the women there were were working in prostitution. But they were in there when I saw them singing and praising God, crying, rediscovering their their dignity, their God-given dignity, I saw the power that music can can heal. And it's it's also a way of praising and a way of prayer. Uh you were talking about uh in one of the videos, you're talking about um praying while you were in the gym. Well what what is sort of your routine of prayer and how how does that work? How do we how do we pray and do other things while praying?

Speaker 1 19:13

Yes, look, first of all, I would say this prayer is is communication, isn't it? It's a it's a it's a relationship. We're not called to as Catholics, and this is a misconception, we're not called to follow a religion, right? We're called to follow a person, and that person is Jesus. And uh we Jesus is risen from the dead, he's alive. And so we are to have a conversation with him, a relationship with with him. We're not created to live this life alone. So every day how I pray, I wake up every morning and I put my hands outside the the quilt and it's it's freezing here at the moment. It's it's uh uh um in in the it's uh literally freezing.

Speaker 1 19:51

And I put my hands out in the morning and I and say, Jesus, just give me give me a hug, give me a hug. That's how I start my day. I imagine Jesus giving me a hug. Then I have my coffee and I I settle down a little bit and then I go to my prayer room where I sit down and I speak to Jesus. I read the Bible, I reflect, I journal, I do my morning prayer, I read the sounds. I sp myself, I spend between 40 minutes to an hour with the Lord every moment. It doesn't end there. I go about my day, I'm driving my car and say, Jesus, please help me find a parking space. You know, I'm at the gym, I'm lifting my weights, I'm speaking to Jesus. I wear headphones sometimes, but I have no music on. I just have silence. A moment of silence where I just speak to the Lord. Some people might think I'm crazy because every now and then my mouth moves as I'm talking to the Lord. But I speak to Jesus everywhere I go.

Speaker 1 20:49

A relationship doesn't end when you're in a place. You stay in this relationship everywhere you go. Now it's different between husband and wife, I guess, because when there's no proximity, there's no necessary conversation, but there's constant proximity between you and God. So you can at any time speak to him, at any time even hear his voice. And so I want to stay in the practice of his presence. St. Paul says, "Pray without ceasing." So never stop praying. Always keep in fellowship with the Lord. And so this is why I pray at the gym. I don't go to the gym to pray, but um when I'm at the gym, I pray. When I'm driving, I pray. When I'm about to go on stage and I'm about to preach, I pray. When I'm out for a walk walking the dog, I'm praying. So I try to pray as much as I can. And it's not intense, it's a simple conversation: "Jesus, thank you for this flower. Thank you so much for the peace that you give me." I just keep walking, just be aware of his presence everywhere you go.

Two Chairs And Tears Of Mercy

Sheila Nonato 21:52

That's awesome. Um you talked earlier about your parents, your mother. How was your mother? In the book, you you described her as your closest spiritual companion. What is your relationship with your mother and how did she pray for you to become a priest?

Fr. Rob Galea 22:10

Yes. Look, my Mother is the greatest example of what it means to love the Lord in in imperfection, but also to keep loving the Lord in spite of all things. So I I my Mom is the one, I stand here as a priest because my mom never gave up on me in prayer. Now, there was a time where I was locked in my room. I talked about those moments where I was lost and I wanted to end my life. And my parents, my mom in particular, used to hear me cry. And she used to knock at the door and she'd say, Rob, are you okay? And every time I just slammed the door in her face, I'd swear I can't say just like, leave me alone.

Fr. Rob Galea 22:49

And when I got to write this book, um I I I gave my Mom a copy. I said, Look, I'm gonna publish this book, but I had included a chapter. Now I shouldn't do it in the next update of the book, but I had included a chapter about how angry I was at my parents, because they would knock at the door and I would slam the door in their face. But how I wanted them not just to to knock at the door, I I really, in hindsight, and I was a priest when I wrote this, how I wished that they broke down the door, that they ran towards me, that they hugged me, they told me that I was going to be okay.

Fr. Rob Galea 23:28

Because I didn't know I was going to be okay. I didn't know I was going to be able to survive. And so what happened was I gave a copy to my to my mum. I said, listen, I just want you to see this because I'm about to publish this in a book.

Fr. Rob Galea 23:41

And she told me this. She said, "Rob, there's something missing in this book. She said, because there's something you don't know that we never told you." And she said, "Every time you slam the door in our face, we would not leave. We wouldn't leave, would fall to our knees outside your room, and we'd pray. We'd pray. We'd pray that the God who we knew could reach you would reach you. We couldn't, but we knew a God who could reach out to you. And we'd cry outside your room, except you were crying in desperation. We were crying in hope."

Fr. Rob Galea 24:14

So she continued to pray for me. She continued to get friends and family, and she does, she still does. She has a prayer group just to pray for my ministry. And so she meets with other women and and they pray, and they pray that for my holiness. Um, and uh I keep telling Kam, you're not praying hard enough, you're not praying hard enough. Because I have a long, long way to go. But also, um, she's the one who I turn to as well, especially when I need to discern things in my life, because she's really helped me with discernment through the priesthood, but also discernment in where I am to go in my ministry. So I'm really grateful for her and for my Dad too. My dad isn't a uh necessarily a praying man, but he's a wise man. He's a man who takes suffering, a man who's been through a lot as well in his life.

Sheila Nonato 25:08

That's amazing. That's amazing. What's your mother's name?

Fr. Rob Galea 25:13

My mother's name is Anne.

Sheila Nonato 25:15

Anne. Beautiful, beautiful. Um, how does she feel about you um traveling around the world, singing, and bringing the gospel to people and being a priest? How did your parents feel about you becoming a priest?

Fr. Rob Galea 25:33

Well, as I said, my mom was greater discernment. She knew I was going to be a priest before I even knew it. So she had this sense and she would see pictures like visions um in her mind of me. For example, one thing that she had written down and and um told me about was that she saw a picture of me. Um, and I was still 17. I was still going through my addiction at that point, and I wasn't a musician.

Fr. Rob Galea 25:59

I had never touched the guitar in my life, I'd never written a song in my life. And she said, she said, one day she sat me down, she said, Rom, I was I was praying and I saw this picture of you in a circle with young people, and you had a guitar in your hands, but also you had a collar, a priest's collar on. And when she told me this, I was furious. I was angry. She said that I said, Mom, I don't want to be a priest, I don't want to be near young people. At that time, I was terrified of young people because of the amount of times I had been hurt. And and I certainly didn't play music.

Fr. Rob Galea 26:34

And so um she knew, she she really knew even deep down in her heart um that I was to be a priest. So when I told her that I was descending the priesthood, she already knew and she was praying for me. My dad, on the other hand, um, was he was furious that I was to be a priest because he thought I was wasting my life, he thought I was throwing my life away. And eventually, once I did enter the seminary, um, he started to understand my joy and my peace, and he could see that that this was was fulfilling my heart as well. And today he's he's my biggest supporter. He watches all of my YouTube videos, he watches everything that I broadcast, in fact, to the point where even my mom tells him, enough, let's watch something else. Because um, my dad today really is um yeah, uh someone who who is honestly my biggest fan.

Sheila Nonato 27:29

That's amazing. I um obviously I married now, but before I also had been discerned about religious life, becoming a religious sister, and my parents were against it. I actually had to write a letter. I think it was like four pages long to let to allow for them to allow me to discern. But I feel like um nowadays, you know, with all the distractions for young people, how do they how do they go about discovering their vocation with all of these distractions? And also there's you know, um, the culture is not so welcoming towards the idea of a religious vocation or a priestly vocation. How do parents, how do we encourage that? How do we build sort of a culture that will embrace that kind of searching?

Fr. Rob Galea 28:17

Well, I think that every young man should consider the priesthood. Every young woman should consider religious life, consecrated life. And I think parents that understand the heart of God and the heart of the church will always encourage their young people just to consider it. Sitting them down at even at a point, have you ever considered the priesthood?

From Encounter To Evangelization

Fr. Rob Galea 28:35

Getting them into parishes, role models are so important, even on YouTube, and also um even uh in in proximity and going to parishes that have priests that are inspirational, religious orders, you know, if you have young daughters as well, take them to places to go and visit nuns, to go and visit the and see the ministry of religious life. Because good cause, but the the voice is too distant if there is no if there are no role models. If also the the world, the voice of the world is too loud, but the noise of the world is too loud. So teaching your children to pray, to discern, but also teaching them to understand that they too could be called to the priesthood. And we think, oh my goodness, I don't want to lose the opportunities for grandchildren. It's too hard. It is hard. Of course it's hard being a priest of, of course it's hard being a nun, of course, even now more than ever. But can I tell you this? He is more fulfilling than anything else I could ever hope or imagine. I find it difficult to be a priest, but I'm happy. I'm so happy, so fulfilled. And my parents are thrilled. My dad is thrilled because he sees me so fulfilled in my vocation. If God calls your children to be a priest or a nun, and you're pushing them towards something else, they will never be fulfilled as because God knows more. They will be happy, yes, but the true fulfillment comes with vocation, with a response to vocation. So it could very well be marriage, absolutely.

Fr. Rob Galea 30:11

And and that's a one the uh a beautiful vocation, but I think you cannot be, you cannot even discern marriage well if you haven't discerned priesthood or religious life. Having said this, also, if you you are not able to be a good father, a good husband, then you probably won't be a good priest either. So you can see your children, oh they really well, they really get on well with children, they get really on well with people. Yes, but that could also be a sign of the priesthood. Because a priest or religious light, because a good priest is someone who is also capable of being a good father and a good husband.

Fr. Rob Galea 30:54

And a good nun is someone who's capable of being a good mother and a good wife as well. So just um discernment is not about what we see, but trying to help uh your children understand what God wants, because they will never be truly fulfilled if they go for second best. God knows first best, and and sometimes we settle for second, for third best because of our fears. And and God will overcome anything that you be fearful of. God will give you more than you could ever hope or imagine. So as the Bible says, 365 times, do not be afraid.

Sheila Nonato 31:30

Yes, absolutely. Um in terms of, I guess you were talking about role models, culture, social media, X Factor. Um, can you talk about you you entered? Uh I think you were in an interviewer saying that they were asking you to enter and you said no, and then you decided I'm gonna do it. You were you're cruising along. Looks it looked like you might even win the thing, um, and then you step back. What tell us what was that discernment like? What was the decision like? And and why did you make that decision?

Fr. Rob Galea 32:06

Well, I was following my peace. You see, I was asked to audition, I did audition, and then eventually the judges said yes, and then I was almost like pressured into going into boot camp. And anyway, halfway through the show, I kept praying. I kept trying to seek the the the will of God. I never wanted to be a pop star, I never wanted to be known as a singer. I I love I love being a priest, and and I love the evangelization work that I did. But every time that I would sit in prayer, every day I would take an hour to pray, even when I was on the show. And that piece was just so beautiful.

Fr. Rob Galea 32:43

But every time I stepped out and and I thought and I tried to to plan ahead about um this competition and the ramifications of it, this piece somehow shifted, it moved. I didn't have this piece. Yes, I knew that God could give me the opportunity, I knew that God could give me success with all of this, but there was no peace. And so every time I thought about leaving the show, even though it was a scary thing to do, to where the peace uh sort of rested on in my heart. And so eventually I started to think, what do I want? Do I want this peace or do I want success? And I know God was giving me this choice.

Prayer As Daily Relationship

Fr. Rob Galea 33:24

He was giving me, I can give you success, but also I can give you a quiet peace. And I remember just saying, God, I want this peace, I want this peace. This is more important to me than anything else. And so I stood in front of the judges, in front of the producers, and I said, Hey guys, thank you so much for this opportunity, but I'm going to leave the show. And they were furious. And not only they were furious, people, Catholics, were furious. I even get a call from a bishop telling me, why did you throw away this opportunity? This could have been such an opportunity for evangelization. But at the end of the day, I could only go in obedience, and that obedience is following the peace that the Lord has given me. Now, in hindsight, that's the best decision I ever made because then immediately I get to sing. Since then, I've sung for the Pope three times, I've sung in front of crowds of 1.5 million people, I get to minister to four million people across the world every year. I could never have done this if I won that competition, because I'd be tied down by contracts, I'd be tied down by by managers, I'd be tied down by the things that um copyrights and everything else. So God knows what he's doing, and sometimes that still small voice is all we have to hold on to.

Sheila Nonato 34:39

Amazing. And which world youth days were you at and were you sang in front of the Pope?

Fr. Rob Galea 34:48

So I sang in front of the Pope the first time when um it was in Sydney um at World Youth Day. I sang for Pope Benedict um and a crowd of 500,000 people. Um a few years later I get invited to sing for the for Pope Francis in Panama, and that was for um about 1.1 million people. Um I I remember singing during adoration for for the Pope, and I look up and he's asleep, and I thought, oh my goodness, my one opportunity to sing for Jesus and the Pope, and the Pope is asleep.

Fr. Rob Galea 35:23

But um that was a beautiful experience, also, a beautiful prayerful. Now he could have been just meditating, but he looked very much asleep. And then um the the third time was uh at the recent World Duke Day in Lisbon, where I got to sing in front of 1.5 million people as well, and at the stations of the cross for 700,000 people. Um, and 700,000 I got to do a 40-minute um concert and talk. So that was a really lovely, a wonderful experience.

Sheila Nonato 35:56

That's amazing. And did you also write the the theme songs for world for which world do you think?

Fr. Rob Galea 36:02

So it was for Sydney, um for um a co-wright, and especially the international version. I helped with the international version of the one in um Panama, and also the international version in Lisbon.

Sheila Nonato 36:20

And this gift of music and songwriting, you discovered this as a teen in the youth group. Is that is that correct?

Fr. Rob Galea 36:28

Music was part of my healing. You know, my mum used to play the guitar, and so I would pick up the guitar, try to learn the chords, watch MTV, and see how I could do it. And it was just a like it was just a soothing of the soul. Even though I had met the Lord and I had this encounter, I still had my addictions to fight, I still had my my aggression, I still had my depression. And so music became a source of consolation for me. And so I would play music, I wasn't any good at it, but eventually um at our youth group, they needed someone to play during the youth-led mass. A

Fr. Rob Galea 37:04

nd so I I had no I knew four chords by then, and I started playing at mass. And eventually um from there started to write music, and then I got um one of my best friends um died from from uh from muscular dystrophy, and um I wrote a song for his funeral, and uh they asked me to record the song. His parents asked me, and we released the song publicly, and it became Malta's best-selling single. And from there I got signed to a record label in the UK and then signed with Sony Records in in Australia, and now I work with GIA publications in the US.

Sheila Nonato 37:46

That's amazing. Um, your book, it's gonna become a Hollywood movie. Is this correct?

Fr. Rob Galea 37:53

That's correct. So we're hoping for 2026 now. I just had a meeting with some of some of the writers and the producers, in fact, just uh um day before yesterday. And um, we're trying to um get this into a movie, um, uh a Hollywood movie. So there's uh a lot of interest. It's on IMDB, and um the uh um a film company has taken it on for pre-production. So we're very excited to see how this turns out.

Sheila Nonato 38:22

That's amazing. Um for for people who are curious, what is the best part of being a priest?

A Mother’s Hidden Intercession

Fr. Rob Galea 38:31

Well, I think it's about the fact that it's not about you. You know, it's not about how gifted you are. Now, the evangelization, yeah, you need gifts to reach out to young people, need gifts. But the most amazing thing is the greatest impact we leave in the lives of people is simply not because you're father wrong, or you're father this or father that, but simply because you're a priest. And that is just so relieving in a sense. It's so wonderful to witness. It's almost like you you have this out-of-body experience where God uses the the priesthood in spite of you, in spite of you, and and and simply because of you, yes, yeah, absolutely, but but it is just so beautiful to see uh the priesthood um reach out uh in the person of Jesus to to people through in their last moments, you know, their last breaths to the through the anointing of the sick, through the most beautiful, wonderful days of their lives on on their wedding day. And it's just uh beautiful just to to watch God work in that way. And I get to do that every day. How awesome is that amazing.

Sheila Nonato 39:40

Yes, uh that sounds amazing. I mean, I wouldn't know, obviously, but that sounds amazing. What is the main challenge of being a priest for you?

Fr. Rob Galea 39:53

Well, I think the biggest challenge is finding peace with your weakness, finding peace with your brokenness. Because this is constant tension, battle of of trying to submit to the will of God, as it is with every person, but also at the same time doing it for the the love of God, for the love of people. That your life is not yours. From the moment of ordination, your life belongs to the people, it belongs to the church, it belongs to Jesus. And so this is um always has been something so extraordinarily large for me to grasp. And and it can come with struggle, it can come with loneliness, but at the end of the day, it's the most fulfilling and the most wonderful gift that any human being, I believe, could receive.

Sheila Nonato 40:47

Amazing. Um, you mentioned icon ministry. Um, and I was reading about is is it still is it still called Meta Saint? It's the Roblox game, is that is that correct?

Fr. Rob Galea 40:58

Yes.

Sheila Nonato 40:59

So what what tell me please tell me about it? Because I don't play video games, so I don't know.

Fr. Rob Galea 41:05

Yeah. So one of the things that we want to do is to evangelize, to reach souls, to sow seats, to tell the world about Jesus. We're part of a movement called Global 2033, which the aim of this movement is to make sure that every person hears the gospel by 2033. That's one, that's 2,000 years after the resurrection.

Fr. Rob Galea 41:26

Now, not everybody has heard about Jesus. Now, here's the problem. We have a generation called the Alpha Generation. You've heard of Generation Z. After Generation Z comes generation A, Generation Alpha. Now, this is your your kids are in generation alpha and until about 13 years old. And they are the COVID generation, they are the generation that are the most introverted generation, they're the generation that are, um, of course, not your kids, but they're the most self-entitled generation. But they're also the generation that don't don't socialize.

Fr. Rob Galea 42:01

T hey don't, they're not in our churches, they're not on Instagram because their parents are on Instagram. They're not on um they're they're not on TikTok because their parents are on TikTok. They're even their grandparents are on Instagram, you know? So, and Facebook, not even registered. They're in two places. They're in they're in other on YouTube and they're on a place called Roblox. Now, Roblox has 72 million users a day. 72 million young people playing video games pretty much up to eight hours a day, every day. And young parents have no idea what they're doing. They're on this platform, this metaverse platform, which can destroy these young people. It can destroy their minds, there's a lot of grooming, there's a lot of danger there.

Fr. Rob Galea 42:50

But parents don't know because it's so such a leak in a generational act. You know, our generation never did anything like this. And so we thought, okay, this is where young people are, the generation A are. Where is the church? Where is the church here? And there was nothing, nothing there um credible. So what we did was we raised some funding and we tried to um we approached the best game Roblox game designer in the world. So they've done things for Paramount, for Disney, they've done things and games for Adidas and uh HM, you can imagine all of um IKEA. So they're doing all of these great great projects, and we asked if they would take on this project, and they did.

Fr. Rob Galea 43:37

And so we do designed a game called MetaSaint, where we literally uh lead through a game, so a professional game, so you would never tell it's a Christian game, like by looking at the gaming, it's an incredible game. So they're um met at the door by Saint Carlo Acutis, by Saint Augustine, and by Mother Teresa, and they're taken through seven windows where they discover. The Old Testament, the New Testament. And then at the end of it, they get to make a decision. Do I want to become a MetaSaint?

Fr. Rob Galea 44:07

And that is, do I want to follow Jesus? Do I want to surrender my life to Jesus?

Fr. Rob Galea 44:12

And if they do, they light this candle and they choose to be a follower of Jesus. And they're given these angel wings, they're given a halo, which they wear on other games as well. So people will ask, why are you wearing that cross? Why are you wearing those wings? Why are you wearing that halo? Today, because I've committed to become a mate as saint. So this is evangelization. It's it's I it's not bringing people to churches necessarily because you can't, because of the nature of robots, you can't lead people out. But at least it's proclaiming the gospel where these young people are and spend most of their time.

Sheila Nonato 44:48

Amazing. I just have a few more questions. Um tell me about icon ministry, the name. How did you decide upon icon? Why did it follow the icon ministry?

Vocations And Parental Support

Fr. Rob Galea 44:58

Well, icon ministry was previously called FRG Ministry. Um for my name, Father Rob Galia. And I um is simply FRG Ministry was simply because it was me. I used to go around and preach and and I used to um uh use this name. But eventually what happened was this ministry started to grow. I started to take on staff. Um my staff started to be at the forefront of this, we started to engage other people. It became bigger than me. Praise God. And this is what I always wanted. But um, and so I wanted, I went to the board of directors, I said, hey, can we take out my name? And for about three years, they couldn't let me do this because of the goodwill, because of the process, and we couldn't afford to have a name change because it's very expensive to have a name change, especially that we minister globally. Um so what we eventually we um were able to name change change the name, and we prayed about it with the son and we came up with icon ministry. Now, the reason why it's icon ministry is because icon um means that the image, the image, especially the image of Christ. So it's taken from Corinthians and Colossians, and so the book of Colossians says that he, Jesus, is the icon of the invisible God. And uh Corinthians says, in their case, the God of this world blinded the minds of the people to keep them away from seeing the gospel, the glory of Christ, who is the icon of God. So, what am I saying here? That we are trying to give to show Christ. Christ is the icon of God.

Fr. Rob Galea 46:36

So we're proclaiming Jesus the icon, but also it says that people are blind, they cannot see the icon. So our mission as icon ministry is to help people open their eyes to see Jesus and their call over their lives. And also our patroness as well, one of our patronesses is Veronica. Veronica, that's not her real name. You know, the her real name. The reason why she was called Veronica in tradition, it's not even in the Bible. The reason why she was called Veronica was because she took that cloth and she wiped the face of Jesus and she got the icon of Christ, right? The the image of Christ on the cloth.

Fr. Rob Galea 47:15

And so Veronica means "Vera Icona," the true icon. And so that she held the true icon of Christ. So we like Veronica want to be people who spend time with Christ, wipe the face of Christ, and then give it and show it to the world.

Sheila Nonato 47:31

Beautiful. Would you consider yourself a Catholic influencer? Is that something that young people should aspire to be?

Fr. Rob Galea 47:40

Absolutely, I'm a Catholic influencer. So are you, so are we all. You know, we we need to be an influencer. In fact, our podcast is called Catholic Influencers Podcast (It is now called "Outside the Chapel" Podcast). And we equip people, try to train people to become these Catholic influencers through knowing the scripture, through knowing the teachings of the church. You can't be a credible influencer if you don't know what you're trying to influence people with.

Fr. Rob Galea 48:03

So understand the Word of God, understand the Teachings of the church. And so, yes, I would consider myself a Catholic influencer, and yes, I would consider myself wanting to create more Catholic influencers, evangelists, people who spread the gospel, disciples who go out to proclaim the good news.

Sheila Nonato 48:25

Yes, absolutely. Um are you coming to Canada anytime soon for a concert?

Fr. Rob Galea 48:31

Well, I have a plan to get to back to Vancouver um next year, and I'm doing um hoping to do a tour across Vancouver. Um I used to go to London and Toronto uh very often, um, but haven't um haven't of of late. So if you want myself or our team to come, just contact your pastor, your parish please, and tell them, hey, I want Father Rob to come over, and they can contact our team as well, and we'll come run youth rallies and and parish missions.

Sheila Nonato 49:02

Amazing, amazing. Yeah, my uh my children's godfather, I don't know if you remember him, Noel Ocol interviewed you at the gym. That's how yeah, so he's my (children's godfather). Yeah, so Salt and Light, yeah, he's no longer there, but I think Salt and Light TV, it's still going, still going strong. Um, but yeah, I mean it would be amazing if you you'd come to Toronto again. Um and my children would, yeah, they we've been listening to your music, to be honest. I've been preparing for this interview for like, I don't know, a couple of months now. So I play the music and my son loves to dance (to the song) "Dominoes" and "To the Ends of the Earth." They love the songs.

Fr. Rob Galea 49:42

Wonderful.

Sheila Nonato 49:43

They're big fans. Um, and finally, yes. Sorry. I was gonna say, how can people support your ministry?

Fr. Rob Galea 49:56

Well, our ministry is completely, completely run by the generosity of people. So there are ways. First of all, I'd say pray for us, pray for our mission, because we can do nothing without prayer. But secondly, also we are a charity and we also uh we're 501c3 tax deductible as well. Um, and they all they need to do is to support even just two dollars a month or whatever it is, because uh way every dollar we get, we're able to evangelize to go out further. Um and they can go to iconministry.com and um there they can find a place to donate. There's a donate button right there. Um again, none of it goes to us, it goes straight to outreach.

Fr. Rob Galea 50:38

We also reach out to a lot of young um and young girls especially who are stuck in prostitution, and we we um uh train the leaders and and bring them out. Actually, it costs like we calculated to get one girl out of, and this is as young as four years old stuck in prostitution. For, we focus on from four to seventeen-year-old girls. And to get one girl out of prostitution and to look after them, it costs us $300 a year. It's not much, it's not much, but it's it saves a life. So, and we try every $300 that we get, we push into, we push to try and reach to at least one other soul. So, again, these are ways in which we can impact the gospel and impact the world with the gospel.

Sheila Nonato 51:25

That's awesome. I'll I'll put the links uh once the show is published, and I'll put the links to um your podcasts. Uh, was there anything else that you wanted to say?

Fr. Rob Galea 51:37

Look, uh at the end of the day, it's not um it's not even about any ministry, it's not about um anything established. But I think I just want to encourage everybody just to pray, to spend, to ask the Lord to show them how one, how loved they are, but two, the call you have to evangelize. We don't have time to waste.

Fr. Rob Galea 52:00

We need to tell the world about Jesus, and we need to tell the world in our limitations, in our, in a sense, incompetence. God doesn't call us to be perfect, but he calls us again to to be loud about the gospel. And so this is just my encouragement to you be loud, tell the world, tell your children, tell your grandchildren, tell people about what Jesus has done in your life. And you might get eyes rolled, do it anyway.

Sheila Nonato 52:28

And finally, um I I'm not sure if you if you'd be able to lead us in a prayer and a blessing for everyone listening to the podcast.

Why Father Galea left X Factor

Fr. Rob Galea 52:36

Absolutely. So let's pray in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Jesus, we thank you so much for the gift of your love for us. We thank you, Lord, that you call us to greatness, and this greatness is in the proclamation of your kingdom. Lord, we seek only to glorify you. Lord, I pray for those who are struggling, struggling with faith, and but also those who are struggling in seeing the suffering of their children, their grandchildren that have walked away from the faith. Lord, I pray that you allow us to become your instruments. We will step forward and not be afraid. We ask your peace in our lives, your blessings. And I ask this in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sheila Nonato 53:26

Thank you so much uh for coming on. We call our podcast uh our little family apostolate. So we um we are so humbled and honored to have you, and we look forward to sharing your message and your music and looking forward to other people supporting you in your ministry. Thank you so much, Father Gallia. I appreciate it. We appreciate it. Thank you.

Fr. Rob Galea 53:49

Yeah, thank you for having me. Thank you. God bless.

Sheila Nonato 53:52

Thank you. Take care. Bye-bye. OUTRO: Friends, thank you so much for joining us this week. And we thank Father Rob Galea for this honest, raw conversation about conversion and evangelization. Join us next week as we continue this exploration of the theme of conversion as we enter into the holy season of Lent.

Sheila Nonato 54:15

And a shout-out to all of our listeners and YouTube watchers. We are extremely humbled and honored to have listeners from the U.S., from Canada, from 10 countries actually: Hanoi, Vietnam, uh, France, Poland, Cyprus, New Zealand, Luxembourg, and Germany. And in particular, there seems to be a group of friends um in Germany, in Frankfurt, and a group of friends in Rancho Cordova, California. So I've seen um new friends or new groups, and I am extremely, extremely humbled and honored that you would spend some time with us, spend your very, very limited time as mothers, as parents, to join us and to listen to these conversations about faith. Thank you and blessings to you. Peace upon your households and your homes and your workplaces.

Thank you for listening! God bless!

Co-Host 55:11

Happy New Year! Please pray for us. Step on that like button and smash that subscribe button. Please. Thank you. Please subscribe to our podcast and YouTube channel, and please spread the word. Let's be brave. Let's Be Bold, let's Brave and Be Blessed together.