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Bishop Shelton Fabre of Houma-Thibodaux. / Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux.

Denver Newsroom, May 1, 2021 / 13:01 pm (CNA).
A Louisiana bishop has lifted mask requirements for Mass in several of the state’s cities, but he still encouraged parishioners… […]

CNA Staff, Dec 20, 2020 / 05:22 am (CNA).- A group of Catholic board game enthusiasts has launched a new Kickstarter campaign to create a game based on the Father Brown series by G.K. Chesterton.

The game is called Father Brown Investigations: The Death of Sir Percy Coldwell. It is inspired by Chesterton’s fictional character, Father Brown, a priest who solves crimes by using deduction and his insight into the human person.

The idea was developed by Nikola Bolšec, the president of the Croatian Chesterton Club and an editor for Laudato TV. The Kickstarter campaign was launched on Dec. 8 with a goal of raising $30,000. Ten days later, the project had raised nearly $5,000.

The game is estimated to take about 45-90 minutes and is for up to 6 players. The object of the game is for players to compete as rival investigators to unveil the suspect before their opponents.

At the beginning of the game, players are confronted with a crime scene. Each player will then receive investigation resource cards depending on their character’s skills. The players will use these cards to acquire the proper evidence to solve the mystery.

While the goal of the game is to make a case against a suspect before other investigators, one of the players in the game could be playing as the arch-villain Flambeau. This player seeks to mislead his opponents and wins by preventing the other players from completing the investigation.

Among other perks, donors to the Kickstarter campaign can receive base or deluxe versions of the game, the chance to play a virtual game with the creators, and the opportunity to be incorporated as a character in the game.

The project has been supported by Jacek Malkowski, a Polish game designer who has created board games such as The Road to Bethlehem and Inspiration. The creative team also includes artist Matko Antolčić and graphic designer Iva Risek.

The marketing campaign is being led by Joseph Grabowski, president of the Philadelphia Chesterton Society. He said Chesterton fans everywhere have met the news with excitement.

He said Father Brown – whose character also featured in a popular BBC television show – has enduring appeal. He also expressed hope that a fun example of an admirable priest would help address negative stereotypes of clergy and the Catholic Church.

“We’re incredibly excited by the enthusiasm we’ve seen from Chesterton fans, and the wider world of board game lovers,” said Grabowski in a Dec. 16 press release.

“This is a game that can be played by anyone, regardless of background or faith, and regardless of whether they are familiar with Chesterton’s Father Brown fiction. Nevertheless, for us, as Catholics, we think this game is important and that the market is ripe for it.”

“The reputation of the Catholic priest in our society has taken quite a hit over the past two decades, and we think a character like Father Brown who is wholly admirable, virtuous, and wise is a needed remedy to so many bad perceptions of priests.”

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Wichita, Kan., Apr 9, 2020 / 03:01 am (CNA).- A group of five friends, and scholars of the Catholic writer G.K. Chesterton, are launching an online lecture series with the hopes of sparking interest in Chesterton’s work, and infusing joy and humor into a country reeling from the coronavirus pandemic.

The series, “Tuesdays with the Troubadours”, began April 7 and is put on by the Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton, a lay apostolate.

The presenters will offer a short talk on a topic related to the faith, followed by a panel discussion and a Q&A. Participants can sign up for the free series and receive a link to join via Zoom video conferencing.

William Fahey, president of Thomas More College of Liberal Arts in New Hampshire, told CNA that he and the other four presenters— The Troubadours— became friends as presenters at the annual Prairie Troubadour Conference, put on by the G.K. Chesterton Society and held in Fort Scott, Kansas, 160 miles east of Wichita.

The goal of the series is to recreate  virtuallythe spirit of that conference.

“I tossed out an idea in an email exchange—almost as a fanciful thought—that all of us should just give an online conference,” Fahey told CNA.

“Everyone moved on the idea quickly…it was the fruit of friendship.”

Fahey said he hopes the friendship and levity of the group will come across online.

“Joy is of the Christian spirit,” Lahey said, citing the motto of the college he leads, which is taken from St. Paul: caritas congaudet veritati; charity rejoices in the truth.

“Catholics, especially on the cusp of darkness, can get quite melancholy and gloomy. But I think the Catholic character…is to laugh when the chips are down and ride on,” he said.

What is a troubadour, anyway?

Troubadours were medieval poets and storytellers, who went from place to place and often lived a mendicant lifestyle. St. Francis of Assisi in particular is often remembered as a “troubadour of God” for his mendicant lifestyle and joy.

Christopher Check, president of the media apostolate Catholic Answers, told CNA that his presentation, set for April 28, will focus on the importance of storytelling, especially in education.

He pointed out that many students today are fed a steady diet of practically oriented readings, with a decreased emphasis on stories that “capture the imagination and impart a moral truth.”

“And yet, when Our Lord wants to impart a truth, what does he do? He tells stories,” Check said.

“This is the educational device par excellence: the story. And Our Lord knew it.”

Joie de vivre

Chesterton, the inspiration for the series, was born in 1874 and became a prolific writer and staunch Catholic apologist after his conversion to the faith. He is renowned for writing apologetic classics such as “Orthodoxy” and “The Everlasting Man,” as well as for his fictional “Father Brown” series, among many other works.

He died in 1936 and is remembered for his humor and wit.

Check said the virtual conference aims to whet participant’s appetites for the writings of Catholic authors like Chesterton, and to be in the company of fellow Catholics “and feel that joy” when the coronavirus outbreak ends.

Joseph Pearce, another presenter and director of book publishing at the Augustine Institute, told CNA that Chesterton’s way of seeing the world was and is very Catholic, because a sense of humor, infused with grace, is crucial for evangelization.

Troubadours, in a Catholic sense, have a spirit of joie de vivre that comes from faith in Christ, Pearce said.

Chesterton brought people to God through a hearty cheerfulness and jollity, with a smile on his face, Pearce said.

“Basically, the victory is already won. We, as Christians, understand that God is in charge…we really should be walking around full of that joy, the joie de vivre that comes from the joie de crist, from the joy of Christ. And if that’s not present, there’s something wrong,” Pearce told CNA.

Fostering a troubadour attitude

The spirit of the troubadours has a rambunctiousness about it, Pearce said.

“The whole idea of the format is that the seriousness of the message is nonetheless delivered with ‘levitas’— gravity with levity,” he explained.

He mentioned a famous Chesterton quote from his book “Orthodoxy”: Angels can fly because they take themselves lightly.

“Yes, I want to talk about serious things, while at the same time having that Chestertonian levity,” Pearce said.

“That’s what we should be aiming at. What Chesterton succeeded in doing so well is something that we disciples of Chesterton should try to emulate,” he said.

Lahey recommended that Catholics wishing to foster a “troubadour” attitude within themselves ought to read such authors as Chesterton, Hilaire Belloc, J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert Louis Stevenson, John Buchan— “things that are adventurous; things that make them want to live large and risk.”

Check agreed, also recommending that Catholics tend to their interior spiritual lives during the coronavirus outbreak. He recommended praying the Divine Office at home— “in that prayer, you’ll see penitential psalms, but you’ll also see psalms of joy,” he said.

He also encouraged Catholics to get a copy of the Mundelein Psalter and say Lauds and Vespers around the kitchen table.

“We’re about to enter the Easter Season, where the feasting really just goes on and on and keeps going on, a time of great joy,” he noted.

“And all of the Divine Office is going to reflect that joy. So that is a sure recommendation I would make to people.”

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