Bangalore is gearing up to welcome young Fr Rob Galea, a Maltese/Australian Roman
Catholic priest. His India tour includes performances in Mumbai, Bangalore and Goa. A
priest playing the guitar and singing in concert will be an important reason why people
will come for his upcoming concert tour. Dr. Marianne Furtado de Nazareth got in
touch with him, which will give our readers a taste of what’s in store at his upcoming
concert.
Marianne: How do you balance your spiritual duties as a priest with your creative
pursuit as a singer and performer?
Rob: I make time, I make the effort, I am creative by nature and I love music. Music is
such a powerful way for me to connect with people but also to connect most
importantly with God. So this is something that I make time for. I have a big... ministry
that I get to run with 11 of my staff and then also I get to travel around the world where
I;m on a plane over 150 times a year and singing in front of over one and a half million
people across the world and even in crowds as large as 1.1 and 1.5 million people where
I;ve got to sing for the pope and other people so this is awesome that I get to do this but
I need to make time for creativity.
Marianne: Do you find any conflicts or synergies between the two?
Rob: They work together. You see, my vocation as a priest is to proclaim Jesus through
word and sacrament. And being creative through music is proclaiming the word of God
in a creative way, but absolutely no conflict. Who are your musical inspirations, both
sacred and secular? Well, I don;t have any particular artists that are...that I follow, but I
listen to Christian music all the time. I listen to people, different pop artists, from Billie
Eilish to Coldplay to Ed Sheeran to Ariana Grande to all different types of artists. But at
the end of the day, I am my own artist and I have my own style.
Marianne: Do you get inspiration from other singers?
Rob: Yes, I;ve worked with several artists. By the grace of God, I get to travel around the
world. I sing in front of over one and a half million people across the world every year,
and that puts me on stages with some incredible artists from all around the world,
Christian artists and different pop artists as well.
Marianne: Tell us about how you started playing the guitar?
Rob: I started playing the guitar when I was healing from depression, anxiety, after
being involved in gangs and in a place of darkness I discovered music as part of my
healing process. And from there I started writing songs and from there also got started
working with major record companies like Sony, like ICC Records in the UK, and now I
work in the US with a record company there.
Marianne: How do you see the role of music in spiritual practices and worship?
Rob: Music is a powerful thing. Music... can soothe even the savage beast. Music has
always played a very powerful part in the life of faith. Take King David and Saul for
example. King David went to soothe King David through playing the harp. So music has a
powerful power to help us transcend, to look at the ordinary and find peace in the
ordinary, but it also helps us and has the power and the capacity to lead us to the
extraordinary, to the transcendent. Working with young people, for example in schools,
I can talk to them about Jesus, but the minute I play music, all of a sudden they;re ready
to listen. And again, music is even more powerful because it enters us, it allows us to
enter into a place where we;re looking beyond ourselves and looking towards God, and
that is the courts of God. And how awesome is that, that we get to do this.
Marianne: What are your future aspirations as a musician and priest?
Rob: First of all, I;m a priest. I’m a Christian first, thats the most important thing, Im a
Catholic. The second thing is that Im a priest. Music is something I use to evangelize and
I dream that I will be always able to use this for the building of Gods church and of
God;s kingdom, but I don;t have any aspirations to build myself in any way or any form. I
just want to continue to go through any doors where people are willing to hear. Of
course, working on new projects all the time. We just released, for example, a video
game on Roblox called MetaSaint. We;re always working within the education system to
proclaim God. Also, I;m writing a children;s book as well as a regular book. They;re also
creating a movie, a Hollywood movie, based on my life and on my addiction and my past
life and finding redemption. So there;s always new opportunities, always new ways. to
be able to continue to grow and to build God;s kingdom and bring peace to other people.
