Priest holds mass in arcade

AVEZZANO, Italy, April 22 (UPI) -- A priest in the town of Avezzano, Italy, said he decided that if he couldn't bring young people to mass, he would bring mass to the video arcade.

Father Duilio Testa, 78, said falling church attendance among the younger generation led him to hold a service in a video arcade that was packed with youngsters, ANSA reported Tuesday.

"At the start, they were all a bit surprised," he said. "But then they stopped playing and helped to prepare an altar and volunteered to read bits of the Gospel. Everyone paid attention throughout the holy mass."

Testa credited his missionary work in Africa with giving him the creativity to bring mass to young people.

''I hit upon this idea thinking about the fact that so many young people are distancing themselves from the church and choosing to hang out together in different ways and in different places, whether they be discos and games arcades, away from parents with whom they don't feel at ease,'' he said.