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  World   Americas  18 May 2020  Michigan priest draws squirt gun to shoot holy water

Michigan priest draws squirt gun to shoot holy water

PTI
Published : May 18, 2020, 8:53 am IST
Updated : May 18, 2020, 8:53 am IST

Priest says he was concerned about how the Vatican might react when the photos of him squirting holy water became viral

Rev. Timothy Pelc blesses Easter baskets outside St. Ambrose Church in Grosse Pointe Park. He offered a prayer and sprayed holy water from a squirt gun instead of blessing baskets inside the church in a bid to maintain social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic. (AP)
 Rev. Timothy Pelc blesses Easter baskets outside St. Ambrose Church in Grosse Pointe Park. He offered a prayer and sprayed holy water from a squirt gun instead of blessing baskets inside the church in a bid to maintain social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic. (AP)

Detroit: A Roman Catholic priest in the Detroit area has taken aim at his parishioners in a bid to maintain social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic, using a squirt gun to shoot holy water.

Photos posted on social media by the St Ambrose Church show the Rev Tim Pelc shooting water into a car window as it stopped by the steps of the church on Easter.

He wore a mask, face shield and rubber gloves as further precautions against spreading the coronavirus.

The photos of the priest at the church in Grosse Pointe Park have inspired memes online.

One shows the 70-year-old priest amid the fires of hell directing the squirt gun at devil-like figures.

Pelc told BuzzFeed News for an article over the weekend that he was a little concerned about how the Vatican might react when the photos of him squirting holy water began circulating widely on the internet.

"But", he said, “"I haven't heard anything yet.”"

The idea was to find a way to continue a tradition of blessing Easter baskets despite the pandemic. One photo shows Pelc standing behind a car with its hatchback door up, shooting water at a basket flowers.

The church and surrounding communities have taken the pandemic seriously, Pelc said. Parishioners have tied blue ribbons on trees at the church for each person who has died of COVID-19 in Michigan. That number is now approaching 5,000.

Tags: squirt gun, holy water, priest, funny, coronavirus, social distancing, michigan