Going Viral: St. Ambrose Parish, Father Tim Palec, and the Blessing of the Easter Foods
Item
Title
Going Viral: St. Ambrose Parish, Father Tim Palec, and the Blessing of the Easter Foods
Description
In mid-May, Father Tim Palec went viral for the way he maintained St. Ambrose's traditional Blessing of the Easter Food Baskets. Dressed in protective gear and using a water gun, Father Palec maintained social distance while carrying out the traditional blessings in a nontraditional manner. The drive-thru blessing took place on April 11, but quickly became viral about a month later (even appearing in several news articles). An image of Father Palec with the water gun made its way to a subreddit called r/photoshopbattles, where redditors photoshopped Father Palec onto movie posters and into a multitude of different scenes, ranging from Star Wars to World War II to exoricisms to a crusade and more. In addition to becoming a viral meme, the church has also stood out for the way it has honored and memorialized Michigan's victims of COVID-19: they've tied a ribbon for each life lost on the trees in front of their church. St. Ambrose Parish offers Sunday mass through Facebook live and their website, and shares posts about different ways members can help the greater community during the pandemic.
Date Created
April 12, 2020
Community
St. Ambrose Parish
Denomination
Catholic
State
Michigan
Place
Grosse Point Park
Contributor
St. Ambrose Parish