Piety meets technology: Youth groups bring Traslacion to online game Roblox

SEVERAL YOUTH-LED groups have conducted their own virtual Traslacion in the gaming platform Roblox, allowing young and long-distance players to join the procession in an online setting that blends spirituality with technology. 

Various online simulations of activities during the Feast of Jesus Nazareno, such as the ‘Pahalik,’ the Traslacion mass and procession were replicated online by different Roblox groups consisting mostly of young players.

Roblox is an online platform that allows people to socialize with different players, create their own games or “experiences,” and participate in those created by others.

Through this system, “Katolikong Kabataan sa Roblox” (KKR) and the “Roblox Filipino Catholics” (RFC) were able to hold their online Traslacion activities on Friday, Jan. 9 in their respective servers that featured replicas of the Quirino Grandstand and the Quiapo Church.

“Me and my friends thought of evangelizing the youth of today, and we saw Roblox as an opportunity for them to be closer to God even if it is just a simulation. We [did] not only focus [on] the evangelization factor, but also the traditions that the Catholic Church here in the Philippines usually does,” Angelo Kristoff Ramos, a Thomasian and the moderator and social media manager of KKR, told The Flame.

The elementary education sophomore said the online Traslacion, which they refer to as “Ro-Traslacion,” is one of the “big-deal” simulation events for the group. Their other major events include online simulations for the Fiesta Señor, Sta. Marta de Pateros, La Naval de Manila and UST’s Fiesta del Santisimo Rosario.

“This was actually planned since November of last year… We have done the needed processes such as checking of availability and assignment of core groups for the event,” Ramos said.

However, Ramos clarified that their religious activities, including their “RO-Masses” or masses conducted in Roblox, have no sacramental value so they encourage their participants to attend actual masses.

“This is applied to all of our RO-Masses and any events that involve the sacraments. We still encourage the youth to go to their churches and participate. Although prayer services are also done in our group, it is genuinely fine to pray in virtual spaces,” he said.

“What motivates us is the faith we have been living, the Filipino faith has been our continuing inspiration to doing these events.”

RFC communications director David John Torres shared similar sentiments, saying that while Roblox offers more flexible tools and options in creating and modifying buildings and physics, the game does not replace participation in actual church activities. 

“What is done in roblox is mere catechesis; there needs to be a concrete action of going to the parishes and receiving the sacraments there,” Torres told The Flame.

The RFC is the first group that held a virtual Traslacion in Roblox, operating in 2020 at the onset of the pandemic lockdowns. With restrictions coinciding with the peak of the fiesta season in March, the group organized virtual celebrations of local fiestas, starting with those in Cavite. By December 2020, it mounted its first virtual Intramuros Grand Marian Procession, which lasted six hours.

“When that became a success, we thought of continuing with the Roblox Traslacion seeing that it would not happen in 2021, we replicated every single event and detail as accurately as possible. From there it kind of flourished and now we’re here six years later,” Torres said.

“Roblox as a platform for religious activities [was] quite new back then, but we really had to make do due to the pandemic and we were afraid that the youth would stray away from church life during those times so we made that initiative,” he added.

Meanwhile, members of the Catholic Roblox Community Group (CRCG) are set to conduct its third annual Roblox Traslacion on Saturday, Jan. 10.

Jelo Amor, 18, who heads and owns the group, said the preparation for the virtual 2026 Traslacion took a year to complete, beginning in a meeting held after their 2025 Traslacion.

Amor said the group wanted the simulation to be as close to the real-life procession as possible for children and other players who cannot attend the actual procession.

“Yung mga kabataan po na hindi nakakasama sa totoong buhay sa misa po, sa mga prusisyon katulad po nung Traslacion, may mga kabataan pong hindi nakakadalaw dahil mga bata pa po. So bibigyan po namin sila ng opportunity na dito po makiisa sa aming online platform po na laro,” he said.

(Young people who are unable to attend mass or real-life processions like Traslacion, especially those who are still too young to go, are given the opportunity to participate through our online gaming platform.)

Co-owner “Franz” and sergeant of arms “CeyyJeyy M.,” both 14, are among those who work alongside Amor for this goal. 

Franz, who role-plays as a priest in the game, will preside over the group’s Traslacion mass, while CeyyJeyy M. will be among the players who will oversee the tradition’s ‘Dungaw’ rites, wherein the image of the Jesus Nazareno would pause to meet the image of Nuestra Señora del Carmen de San Sebastian.

For the three officers, the entire event requires a meticulous process, from ensuring the smooth flow of the program to incorporating new details and features for the procession.

One of the new features added in the group’s online Traslacion this year is the interactive ropes attached to the andas that carry the image of Jesus Nazareno during the procession.

Amor said that with the help of a friend, the installed ropes in the andas can now be stretched, carried on the shoulders, tied to the waist, and passed on to another player.

Amor added that with 80 players joining in their thanksgiving activities alone, the group is expecting around 100 participants this year, higher than the 40 to 50 players who joined in 2025.

The CRCG was first established in Minecraft in 2021, with only five members, including Amor. It was later transferred to Roblox and has so far grown to over 5,300 members, composed mostly of young individuals. F – with reports from Sheridan Joy Delfino