Fr Rob Galea brings hope and music to Merici and Marist College students

The auditorium at Merici College was buzzing with joy on Wednesday as music and laughter filled every corner.

Girls jumped to their feet as Fr Rob Galea performed a mash-up of ‘Yes Lord’ and ‘Shut Up and Dance’, throwing their hands in the air and singing along.

“This is what I live for; this is what I breathe for – to bring these young people back into hope, into a relationship with Jesus,” the priest, author, singer and songwriter said after sharing his testimony with the Year 9 and 10 students.

“This is Generation Z – they have missed out on a lot of the practice of the faith, the engagement, because of COVID. The most impressionable time of their life was moments of isolation. We need to give them the new evangelisation, the Gospel. Tell them about Jesus, tell them they are loved and welcome back into our churches, into our parishes.”

Year 10 student Emily Moore said Fr Rob’s words had resonated with her on a deep level.

“He highlighted how lonely we can feel as teenagers and I really understood that,” she said.

“I felt really seen by an adult. And because he’s so connected to God, I felt like I was being seen by God as well.”

“One of the messages that most stood out to me was not letting fear get in the way of doing things that you love,” Sophie Galea, Year 9, said.

“I think in high school, there can be a lot of social pressures on what to do and what not to do. So, if you cancel out the fear that other people may be imposing on your life, then you can pursue the dreams that you really love.”

“You’re going through a lot with school and working – it is probably one of the harder years of your life,” Olive Taylor added.

“You just have to be true to yourself and be confident in what you do.”

Sienna Misner said these were important messages to hear as teenagers.

“It is just good knowing that there is someone looking out for you when times can be really tough,” she said.

“It was cool. I loved how he made all the audience feel included. No one was embarrassed. Everyone was happily singing and following along and communicating.”

Merici Head of Mission and Community, Veronica Harrold-Carter, said the school wanted to provide the opportunity for students to experience evangelisation at a different level.

“Adding a different perspective is always really helpful and engaging for the girls, and Fr Rob presents that in a way that is super engaging,” she said.

“It’s delivering a message in a way that they’re going to get something out of it.”

At Marist on Thursday, Assistant Head of School – Mission and Identity, Nathan Aherne, said bringing Fr Rob to the school was a great opportunity for the boys to see a young priest who had encountered God.

“For boys and staff, particularly teenage boys, it’s great for them to hear a witness of the faith who has stories that are grounded in his own experience,” he said.

“To see him up on stage and to listen to his harmonious voice really called our whole community to prayer in a very musical way.”

“The most powerful thing was how he interacted with the crowd and shared his story,” Year 8 student Liam Nicolson said.

“You could tell it really came from the heart and he was just really good about it.”

“The most inspiring part for me was how he was able to open up to his family at the end, even though it was a really tough time for him,” Luc Tipping said.

“I think it’s really important for students to know that it’s okay to open up even though it’s tough.”

“At our age, we need to know that if we’re struggling in life, we should always ask for help – that’s it,” William Spencer agreed.

“If you make a mistake or do something bad, you can still always do better and make the right choices next time.”