Crop-duster used to spread 100 gallons of holy water on Louisiana town

A Louisiana church used a crop-duster plane to spread dozens of gallons of holy water on the city of Lafayette and surrounding farms this week.

The Diocese of Lafayette posted a picture on Facebook showing the plane with several members of the St. Anne Church congregation surrounding it in the days before Christmas, preparing to launch the plane loaded with holy water.

“They loaded 100 gallons of holy water into the plane and the pilot sprayed the water onto the town and the nearby farms. Parishioners also brought water from home to the airstrip to be blessed,” the post read.

The Rev. Matthew Barzare of St. Anne Church told NPR that the plane was an efficient way to cover more ground for a blessing.

“We can bless more area in a shorter amount of time,” he said.

The Facebook post also noted that Barzare blessed water that was brought by members of the congregation.

“I blessed it there, and we waited for the pilot to take off,” Barzare said, adding that it was the largest amount of water he had ever turned holy. “I’ve blessed some buckets for people and such, but never that much water.”

The pilot was specifically instructed to drop the holy water over certain parts of the community, including churches, schools, grocery stores and other community gathering places, according to NPR.

“Most parishes have a central location, but my area that I have to cover is a good 30 minutes to the next church, and so by plane, we realized, it might be the easiest way to sprinkle people’s fields, rather than me going in a car to different locations,” Barzare added.

After congregation members enjoyed the display, Barzare concluded that he would make the crop-dusting of holy water an annual event, with hopes of including even more holy water on future rounds.