Gaming and the Catholic church aren’t exactly 2 things you’d associate with each other. For the global launch of the Vessel of Hatred expansion, Blizzard is releasing Beyond the Veil, a 3-part series that shows how individuals balance everyday life with their passion for gaming. In probably the most unlikely crossover you’d think would be possible, the first episode of Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred’s Beyond the Veil features Father Antonio Zabala, a priest and college administrator for San Sebastian College.
Imagine hearing mass on a random Sunday afternoon and suddenly, you find out that the priest has been a gamer since his younger years. And not just any other game, he plays the ones where you fight the hordes of hell. I guess it’s somewhat in the same interests. You can view the full first episode here.
Fr. Antonio talks about how the very first game he played on PC was StarCraft and its expansion set. Once he was assigned to the United States, he came across another title from Blizzard Entertainment, Diablo. Immediately, he was attracted to it.
“Diablo resonates in my being a religious priest. I help people in their struggles. In the same manner, Diablo characters help people in the game, all in the name of doing good.” Fr. Antonio says.
He reflects a lot of the narrative themes of the franchise. For others, it’s a standard evil versus good scenario. But for Fr. Antonio, it’s about stepping up to defend others, without having the need to be asked. It’s something he has been doing all his life as a priest. As an additional tidbit, he did mention that the Barbarian is his favorite class across all Diablo games.
Much like everyone else, Fr. Antonio also expresses his excitement to play the new expansion and try out the Spiritborn class. Episode 1 of Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred’s Beyond the Veil is already starting strong with a guest priest. Now that’s someone a demon fears. Any guesses on who might be featured next?
Diablo 4 Vessel of Hatred is out now on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.