A la 'Matrix,' vocations recruitment poster shows priest as hero

This vocations poster was the brainchild of Father Jonathan Meyer, associate director of youth and young adult ministry for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.

By Chris Scaperlanda

7/22/2005

ASHINGTON (CNS) -- "Just as Keanu Reeves fought against the powers of evil, a priest comes to help people fight against sin. There is a battle out there," explained Father Jonathan Meyer, associate director of youth and young adult ministry for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis.

He made the comments in an interview with Catholic News Service about a new vocations recruitment poster being distributed by his archdiocese.

The poster, which is modeled after an advertisement for the movie "The Matrix," is the brainchild of Father Meyer. It features a priest in full cassock -- and the requisite Roman collar -- holding a cross in one hand and a rosary in the other. And he is wearing sunglasses.

That simple juxtaposition provides the mood Father Meyer said he was aiming for when creating the poster -- he wanted to say something about today's seminarian.

"Today's seminarian," he said, "is engaged with the world but is also committed to orthodoxy, like (Pope) John Paul II."

Father Meyer said the poster, on which he is featured as the "Matrix"-style priest, had its origins in a skit that he saw during his first year at the North American College, the U.S. seminary in Rome. The skit, put on by a group of older seminarians, was based on the film. In it, a group of priests fought Satan in a series of mock martial-arts confrontations.

The concept was really brought to life, however, in a meeting with the archdiocese's Youth Council. During the meeting, the concept of Father Meyer dressing up as Neo, Reeves' character in "The Matrix," was jokingly suggested by one of the students.

"It was one of those things where everyone laughs and then you move on to the next topic. Only after the meeting, I came back to this one," Father Meyer explained.

He then called Missy Scarlet, a friend and a graphic designer, who asked him to do a photo shoot. Within a week they had a working model of the poster.

After a few initial edits, the poster was given a trial run at Our Lady of the Greenwood, in Greenwood, where Father Meyer also serves as associate pastor.

Father Meyer said it got a huge response. "They were going like hotcakes. Young kids wanted them to hang in their bedrooms, high school students wanted them to hang in their lockers," he said. "That is invaluable. If we can get kids to hang a picture of a priest in their room, we've done something huge for vocations."

The response, though, seems to make sense to him. It appeals to people at a level that everyone appears to share. "People love heroes. The poster personifies the priest as a hero," he said.

And it speaks of a faith that meets people exactly where they are in their lives. The poster itself says, in a parody of the words which any watcher of videos knows by heart, "This faith has not been modified from its original version. Yet, it is formatted to fit your life."

Distribution for the poster has been widespread. Father Meyer said that since distribution began in November, 1,800 posters have been distributed around the Indianapolis Archdiocese. An order of 100 was recently sent to California and 300 more were shipped to the Diocese of Madison, Wis.

Father Donald Calloway, a member of the Congregation of Marians of the Immaculate Conception, presents the poster as a part of the talk he gives nationwide called "No Turning Back."

And the poster was featured at a recent Indianapolis archdiocesan high school rally. At the rally, 500 posters were distributed during a "big tae kwon do number" performed to music from the movie, Father Meyer noted.

If there is a story of good versus evil then it can be twisted and be used by the church.

yah--but did you see the last Matrix film? it was loaded with jesus imagery, and at the end, Neo even lifts his arms the way they might be if they were on a cross. fucking awful...that trilogy was fucking ruined by that shit.

so the church is really just piggybacking on the farrely (sp?) brothers' not so subtle imagery.

yah--but did you see the last Matrix film? it was loaded with jesus imagery, and at the end, Neo even lifts his arms the way they might be if they were on a cross. fucking awful...that trilogy was fucking ruined by that shit.

so the church is really just piggybacking on the farrely (sp?) brothers' not so subtle imagery.

Is the church really into Dumb and Dumber and Something About Mary?

i'm pulling a blank then ...who did the Matrix movies?