Inside the Basilica Cardinale, with the light of two suns shining through the windows. Curiously, outside the front door of the church it’s raining.
I spent recent lunch hours investigating how much of a Catholic presence there is in Second Life. There’s not a lot. A search for “Catholic” places yields only ten results, some of which I’m staying far away from. ((Here‘s what turns up when you search for “jesuit” places (warning: offensive). (The Society of Jesus may be well-intentioned, though.) )) A search for “Catholic” groups finds twenty-eight, some of which are not the least bit religious. Some do appear to be sincere, though, and one or two might be worth joining if I had more time, e.g., The Catholic Tolkien. Still, I’m more than a little leery of such organizations as Fr. Simoni’s “Second Life Catholic Church,” whose charter advertises Mass, Confession and sloppy proofreading.
During my investigations, I took numerous snapshots. Here’s a selection.
Catholica is the most-visited Catholic location. It features five churches, a Stations of the Cross, some shrines and a gift shop featuring authentic Catholic kitsch:
Cardinal Sin’s ((I presume the name is just a joke.)) Basilica Cardinale also has wares to sell:
The most impressive site, from a model-building perspective at least, is St. Benedict’s Monastery:
The Church of the Holy Cross, a Byzantine-rite site, is under construction. Notice that it really is out in the middle of nowhere:
Here’s St. Robert Cathedral:
For German-speakers, here’s Kirche St. Sixtus:
The Campivallensis Catholic Meditation Center isn’t really my kind of place, even if it does include a treehouse:
So, is the black-robed figure you? (I’m not familiar with how the Second Life visuals work in action.)
It’s the avatar I’m using. It looks nothing at all like me except for the hair. It’s wearing a cloak, not a robe, and some not-entirely-plausible armor. I didn’t take the sword along because I was visiting churches.