Ed Brayton is a journalist, commentator and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of 
This will show you just how strong the faith is for many Catholics. An Italian man has invented a hands-free holy water dispenser for Catholic churches because congregants were afraid of dipping their hands in the holy water urns:
Clever Catholic inventor Luciano Marabese created the electronic holy water dispenser -- a terracotta wall-mounted urn with a sensor-controlled spigot underneath -- after hearing that fellow Italians, wary of contracting the swine flu, were afraid to dip their fingers in the holy water fonts at the entrance of their churches.
So, uh, what exactly makes holy water different from regular water? Surely if it has divine properties, at the very least it should be sterile and free of viruses that can kill you, right?
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Oh but Ed, the holy water is free of viruses, because God has graciously revealed this holy invention to the mind of Mr. Marabese. Don't you see how God works in... um... totally un-mysterious ways that could more easily be explained by the supposition that he doesn't exist?
Posted by: Ivan | November 21, 2009 9:30 AM
Ed, can't you find something more important to focus on?
Posted by: Jim | November 21, 2009 10:02 AM
"Ed, can't you find something more important to focus on?"
What's wrong with having another reason to laugh at things dealing with the total lack of reason (religion)?
Posted by: dean | November 21, 2009 10:08 AM
It has to be sterile, doesn't it? I mean, they boil the hell out of it ...
Posted by: Dave H. | November 21, 2009 10:09 AM
Jim-
If this isn't important enough for me to focus on, surely the fact that I chose to focus on it can't possibly be important enough for you to focus on.
Posted by: Ed Brayton | November 21, 2009 10:13 AM
I was being tongue-in-cheek. I doubt that most Catholics base their faith on the status of Holy Water. It reminds me of the "This Week In God" segment when Stephen Colbert was talking about the Shroud of Turin.
Posted by: Jim | November 21, 2009 10:26 AM
"...segment when Stephen Colbert was talking about the Shroud of Turin."
Speaking of that shroud - just saw a snippet of a story this morning: the church is claiming to have new "proof" it is authentic. I missed their pseudo-explanation, but it will be amusing to see the disingenuous crap they throw out to support their claim (and so try to keep donations coming from suckers).
Posted by: dean | November 21, 2009 10:32 AM
You would especially expect this in the case of swine flu, which probably isn't kosher.
Posted by: Wes | November 21, 2009 10:32 AM
For those not familiar with Catholic church - when entering, churchgoers dip their fingers in the Holy Water basin ("font") and make the Sign of the Cross. This means everyone's fingers go into a common reservoir, then touch the forehead. Note that when entering the dining area on a cruise ship, the "fonts" are full of anti-bacterial hand wash. Just sayin'
Posted by: Ed S. | November 21, 2009 11:04 AM
Holy water has some salt mixed into it and is blessed by a priest. It's not sterilized. Also, by the time the holy water font is getting low, the remaining thimbleful of holy water left is generally slimy and disgusting as hell.
Posted by: Adrienne | November 21, 2009 12:28 PM
So, uh, what exactly makes holy water different from regular water? Surely if it has divine properties, at the very least it should be sterile and free of viruses that can kill you, right?
Technically, holy water is a sacramental and is blessed. That doesn't confer "divine" properties to it in the Catholic mind. The power of holy water is that it remits venial sins when a believing Catholic anoints himself or herself with it or is sprinkled with it.
Oh, and I guess it's supposed to have some anti-demonic properties too, as it's used in exorcisms.
But the RCC has never claimed that holy water has the power to heal anything physical.
Posted by: Adrienne | November 21, 2009 12:32 PM
My mum being very Catholic went with a group to Lourdes.. Being a thrifty Mainer.. she decided to bring back a couple half gallon size bottles of the holy water there. That nite in the hotel the priest and a few others wanted a drink of scotch but where not sure of the quality of the local water. So.. they mixed drinks with the Holy water .. lol..
Upon returning my mother decided I had to anoint a pesky wart I had tried to remove.. twice by doctors. Being the Atheist of the family I did so under protest. 2 days later.. damn thing fell off. Now.. do I believe? no.. I understand like anti virus they run their course. However.. If i get another.. pass the water!! :-)
Posted by: Lise | November 21, 2009 1:05 PM
Opps.. that is supposed to be any.. not anti . No excuses.. Ive had my coffee.
Posted by: Lisee | November 21, 2009 1:07 PM
Hmmm, no divine properties. I guess that means my holy-water loaded supersoaker will provide little defense in the event of a vampire attack.
Posted by: Jim | November 21, 2009 1:49 PM
While I understand the point Ed is making, this invention sounds to me like good news. If a nice clear distinction like "Holy water and the elements of Holy Communion provide spiritual, not physical, benefits" became a common understanding in churches, it could be a significant step forward in preventing the spread of disease. Marabese is to be congratulated for his contribution to public health.
Posted by: JuliaL | November 21, 2009 2:12 PM
All this talk has me wondering what the half-life of holy water is. Surely someone must be able to design the appropriate experiment.
Posted by: tacitus | November 21, 2009 2:31 PM
He's only about 2000 years behind the times.
Back in the 1st Century CE Heron of Alexandria invented a holy water dispenser that not only didn't involve dipping body parts into a font, it was coin-operated.
see here
Also see L. Sprague de Camp's The Ancient Engineers for a diagram.
Posted by: Ktesibios | November 21, 2009 2:37 PM
Can holy water be extended by repeated dilution and succussion?
I only saw headlines, but my impression is they found a Certificate of Authenticity from a five-star eBay seller.
Posted by: Uncle Glenny | November 21, 2009 3:56 PM
Ed:
I used to be Cath-O-Lick and I still sneak into the church vestibule once in a while to fill a few jerrycans with holy water--it makes the best Kool-Aid.
Posted by: democommie | November 21, 2009 4:56 PM
Demo - Stay away from the lime flavour, though, it's a killer!*
Adrienne if holy water clean away venial sins, what's good against arterial ones? :) - DJ
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*Oh, and don't eat the brown acid, man! Or lick the yellow snow for that matter.
Posted by: DingoJack | November 21, 2009 9:11 PM
@Uncle Glenny:
Yes you can extend holy water, but not quite in that way.
Start with a vial of holy water, and several vials of regular water.
#dip the regular water in the holy water. This will bless the regular water, turning it into holy water while consuming the holy water. (NB: Unholy water will simply become uncursed, and would have to be #dipped in a second vial of holy water.)
Posted by: Rick Pikul | November 21, 2009 10:56 PM
Rich Pikul at #21 suggests:
Start with a vial of holy water, and several vials of regular water.
Do you know what's the Roman Catholic Church's view of using succussion of holy water with ordinary water in order to potentize its holiness and (as a side effect) extend its quantity? Yes, does the homeopatheological principle work?
Posted by: Sam C | November 21, 2009 11:18 PM
Sam seems to want a more serious answer.
Let's see if I can remember how it works. There are two types of holy water, one of which needs a bishop to preform the ceremony, the other which any priest can make. The second does involve mixing a bit of the first into regular water as part of the process of blessing it, however it does not match homoeopathic succession for two reasons:
It does not allow repeated dilutions, you can't use the 'lower grade' holy water in the blessing to make holy water.
The initial use of 'bishop made' water is more along the line of a catalyst to allow a mere priest to perform the blessing. The rite brings in more holiness from outside.
Posted by: Rick Pikul | November 21, 2009 11:54 PM
I really don't know. It still looks like water. That sounds like a scam to me.
Posted by: Modusoperandi | November 22, 2009 12:37 AM
Modusoperandi @ 24:
Kids, making an obvious statement LOL hilarious only looks easy. Don't try this at home. Nice play Modus.
Posted by: Michael Heath | November 22, 2009 7:36 AM
Lise @12 may appreciate this old story:
1st Mainer: They say the new governor is a Catholic boy.
2nd Mainer: Really?
1st: They say he put holy water in the toilets of the capital building.
2nd: What's a toilet?
1st: Don't ask me, I ain't Catholic!
Posted by: mark | November 23, 2009 1:33 PM