Coronavirus: US priest sprays holy water from squirt gun to maintain social distancing, becomes internet sensation
The priest from Detroit said that he consulted a doctor before going ahead with his plan
A priest in Michigan, US, has become a social media sensation thanks to the photos from his socially distanced Holy Week service last month, which involved a water gun full of holy water.
In the pictures, which were first shared by the St. Ambrose Parish in Grosse Pointe Park last month and have gone viral on Twitter recently, the priest, Father Tim Pelc, could be seen wearing gloves, a mask and holding a squirt gun containing holy water.
The church wrote in the April 12 post: “Adapting to the need for social distancing, St. Ambrose continued it's tradition of Blessing of Easter Food Baskets, drive-thru style. Yes, that's Fr. Tim using a squirt gun full of Holy Water!”
US media outlets reported Sunday that Pelc said he thought of the idea and decided to go through with it after first checking with a doctor to make sure it was in line with social guidelines advised by health experts and government officials to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“You can't double dip into the holy water container,” he was quoted as saying. “I thought, what could I do that would keep the quarantine restrictions going and give kids the experience of Easter?" he added.
“We didn't have a lot of notice on it. At noon, the Saturday before Easter, I went out there and there was a line of cars waiting,” Pelc added.
The church’s initial post detailing the Pelc’s effort has gotten thousands of shares on Facebook.
However, a tweet talking about Pelc’s “social distance blessings” has garnered over half a million likes and more than 127,000 retweets in just three days.
The tweet, by user @tripgore, reads: “A Priest giving social distance blessings with a squirt pistol and what, I'm assuming, is Holy water. 2020 folks.”