A Roman Catholic priest in Detroit has solved the problem of blessing his parishioners while maintaining social distancing by shooting holy water from a water pistol.

Pictures of Father Tim Pelc squirting water into his congregations’ car windows at Easter have been widely shared online.

Father Pelc told Buzzfeed News that he wanted to continue the tradition of Easter blessings at St Ambrose Church in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

“The original idea was to do something for the kids of the parish,” he told the website. “They were about ready to have an Easter unlike any of their past, so I thought, what can we still do that would observe all the protocols of social distancing?”

The 70-year-old priest is seen wearing a protective shield and mask whilst he sprays holy water onto flowers in the back of a car.

Father Pelc told Buzzfeed News that he had a “pretty wacky mind and pretty accepting congregation.“

More than 560,000 people have now shared one photo on Twitter showing Father Pelc and his holy water pistol, which has been subsequently altered and remixed as a meme.

Father Pelc told Buzzfeed News that he was astonished at how far the photos had been shared. “It even had two hits in the Vatican, which sort of concerned me but I haven’t heard anything yet.”

There have now been almost 5,000 deaths in Michigan, and more than 51,000 confirmed Covid-19 cases.

Armed demonstrators have protested against lockdown by storming the state capitol building, leading politicians to don bulletproof vests.