H1N1-Free Holy Water

In a basilica from Italy visitors were greeted by a big bottle of hand sanitizer, in hopes that swine flu wouldn't be spread along with the sign of peace. There are similar concerns about the communal fonts of holy water into which parishioners dip their fingers and make the sign of the cross, but one Italian inventor is now going to the bank with his solution. From Reuters in Rome:

"The terracotta dispenser, used in the northern town of Fornaci di Briosco, functions like an automatic soap dispenser in public washrooms -- a churchgoer waves his or her hand under a sensor and the machine spurts out holy water.

'It has been a bit of a novelty. People initially were a bit shocked by this technological innovation but then they welcomed it with great enthusiasm and joy. The members of this parish have got used to it,' said Father Pierangelo Motta.

...Luciano Marabese, who invented the dispenser, said he did so out of concern that fear of swine flu was eroding traditions.

And he is now blessing himself all the way to the bank.

'After all the news that some churches, like Milan's cathedral, were suspending the use of holy water fonts as a measure against swine flu, demands for my invention shot to the stars. I have received orders from all over the world,' he said."

worldnews.about.com