A Michigan priest sprayed holy water on people with a squirt gun for drive-thru blessings

• Father Timothy Pelc, a priest at St. Ambrose Church in Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan, used a squirt gun to spray people with holy water during drive-thru blessings.
• The photos were taken on Easter, but Pelc has since inspired a Reddit Photoshop battle.
• "I am stupefied at the attention," Pelc told Insider of the Photoshopped images and reactions to the photos.
• He said he used the squirt gun as a way to continue Easter traditions while also preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus. He also wore gloves, a mask, and a face shield.
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A Roman Catholic priest in Michigan used a squirt gun to spray his parishioners with holy water during drive-thru blessings to help promote social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic.

Father Timothy Pelc, a priest at St. Ambrose Church in Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan, was photographed using the squirt gun on Easter, while he wore a mask, face shield, and protective gloves.

The pictures have since inspired a Reddit Photoshop battle and circulated widely on the internet, and Father Pelc has said he used the squirt gun to continue traditional Easter rituals during the pandemic.

In a statement to Insider, Pelc said that he consulted his local hospital to see if the squirt gun would be safe, and the facility provided him with the personal protective equipment to perform the blessings.

He said the Photoshopped images and reactions to the photos started long after Easter, and that he's enjoying the ways the photos have been used.

"I am stupefied at the attention. This comes from a guy who won't let his photo be used in his parish paper because it's 'not about me,'" he said.

He told Buzzfeed News that he was worried about the Vatican reacting badly to the photos, but said: "I haven't heard anything yet."

Pelc said the church has taken the pandemic seriously, and St. Ambrose regularly performs virtual services for its parishioners.

So far Michigan has seen 51,142 cases of COVID-19, and 4,891 deaths from the virus. The area hit hardest is Detroit, which is right next to Grosse Pointe Park. St. Ambrose is marking every death with a blue ribbon tied to a tree outside their church.