# Vatican gets Minecraft Server

> A Catholic priest who works in digital ministry has prompted the Vatican to get its own Minecraft server. Fr. Robert Ballecer has a background in Silicon Valley and draws on this as part of his ministry.

By Jonathan Foye · 4 December 2019 · Features

Canonical: https://insights1.uca.org.au/articles/vatican-gets-minecraft-server/

A Catholic priest who works in digital ministry **[has prompted the Vatican to get its own *Minecraft* server.](https://www.pcgamesn.com/minecraft/vatican-server)**
 Fr. Robert Ballecer has a background in Silicon Valley and draws on this as part of his ministry.
 
 The idea is to provide a more wholesome gaming experience that aims to facilitate relationship-building among players.
 
 The project aims to recruit, “Gamers who want a little less ‘toxic’ and a bit more community.”

- ![](https://mk0xowohigohx5n9hmd2.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Vatican-Minecraft-1-1024x1024.jpg)The Digital Jesuit Minecraft Church entrance
- ![](https://mk0xowohigohx5n9hmd2.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Vatican-Minecraft-2-1024x1024.jpg)
- ![](https://mk0xowohigohx5n9hmd2.kinstacdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Vatican-Minecraft-3-1024x1024.jpg)

“You can invite people who want to be creative, who don’t want to be toxic, and you create an environment in which people can express themselves and build up a relationship,” Fr. Ballecer said. 

 “And the relationship thing is the most important part. That’s ultimately what I want to do with the server.”

Fr. Ballecer says that his digital ministry has led to a few interesting discussions.
 
 “Because you see this guy in a collar talking about the latest offerings from Google, or how you run fibre optics across the Atlantic. And they didn’t understand, they said, ‘Wait a minute, these two things don’t go together.’ But after a time, they realised, ‘Okay, he knows what he’s talking about, he just happens to be a priest.’ And ultimately, that was the ministry I was trying to do.”
 
 “At first, there were a lot of people who were very hesitant,” he said.

[Embedded media](https://www.youtube.com/embed/OkYjxCkEcd4)

As ***[Insights](https://www.insights.uca.org.au/virtual-reality-a-i-and-the-church/)*[has previously reported](https://www.insights.uca.org.au/virtual-reality-a-i-and-the-church/),** Uniting Church Minister Rev. Will Nicholas has himself participated in ceremonies inside churches on VR platforms. Rev. Nicholas also uses Twitch, a platform that live streams video, to record himself working through a video-game while giving commentary that includes theological concepts (You can [**view his Twitch feed here**](https://www.twitch.tv/oddrev/)).
 
 “There is this aspect of playfulness that allows us to do more than we could imagine because we forget that it is a task and we engage in a game,” Rev. Nicholas said.
 
“And I think that is probably the core for me of my learning in digital ministry.”
 
The Uniting Church does not have its own *Minecraft* server, however. Any takers?

Filed under: digital-ministry