Father Rusty Vincent took to the air to pray for Vicksburg

Yesterday afternoon, Father Rusty Vincent of St.Paul’s Catholic Church took to the air to pray for the City of Vicksburg and the whole region.

Dan Fordice, right, gives Father Rusty Vincent information on the plane before the flight.

With Vicksburg businessman Dan Fordice at the controls of the vintage WACO biplane owned by the Southern Heritage Air Foundation, the duo departed on their expedition just after 2:30 p.m. Thursday afternoon from the Vicksburg-Tallulah Regional Airport, where the biplane is housed.

Father Vincent used the opportunity and some ingenuity to bless the city by releasing holy water over the city using a cup and a funnel.

The pair flew over the region while reciting numerous prayers including the Rosary and the Memorare to the Blessed Mother, and they prayed for the area’s protection from the COVID-19 coronavirus.

“The flight went well,” Vincent said when contacted Friday afternoon. “I was pleased to be able to do it”

“We figured out a way to use the holy water,” he added.

Fordice said Thursday that the idea came from Knights of Columbus member Charles Hahn, who read about a similar flight in a northern state recently.

Air Foundation President Patty Mekus acted as press liaison for the event and contacted everyone possible to have them watching for the plane’s flyover and asked community members to take a moment to join the men in prayer. Mekus was gracious enough to provide the pictures and videos for this story.