Bishop to 'mass bless' throwing helicopter holy water in Colombia

A bishop from the Bonaventura region of Colombia has announced a different and curious way of bringing protection to the city, which has recently recorded a high homicide rate.

The parish priest, Monsignor Rubén Darío Jaramillo Montoya, will fly over the city streets by helicopter and bless the place and its inhabitants with holy water poured from above. The event is scheduled for July 13, during the celebrations of the feast of San Buenaventura.

Initially, the Colombian press treated the event as if it were a "mass exorcism" to purge all of Bonaventura's evil. However, the church itself rejected the label and said it was a "citizen manifestation that will be expressed in the form of blessing, which aims to seek God's protection over the city."

# ATTENTION | Before the cruel heights of #violence that have been mourning in recent months to the city of #Buenaventura, his bishop, Monseñor Rubén Dario Jaramillo Montoya, will give the blessing on the city.
?? https://t.co/Do7jA6Nc2T pic.twitter.com/qmFdFaZcMN

- Episcopado Colombia (@episcopadocol) June 13, 2019

The purpose of the ritual will be to "invoke God's protection, stir hearts, and realize that there is an evil that does not seem to end." In 2019 alone, more than 50 homicides were reported in Bonaventura.