ROCHESTER, N.Y. – With a sprinkling of holy water, and a prayer of protection, the Rev. Juan Benitez performed blessings on Rochester and its suburbs — from 2,000 feet above.

Benitez took to the air last week, with parishioner and pilot Anthony Daniele, to bless his community as priests had done in his native Colombia when he was a boy.

"The intention was just to tell the people that they are not alone," he said. "Many people are afraid ... they have never seen this in their lifetime. In these moments, the church becomes someplace to find comfort."

Yet the churches are empty.

As a boy, it was violence that kept people in their homes. Today it is the novel coronavirus, and the fear that it will spread.

Back on the ground, he is saying Mass this weekend inside the cavernous sanctuary of St. Louis Parish in Pittsford, New York, where, just two weeks ago, he looked out on 250 to 300 faithful for every service. Last weekend there were maybe 80, spread throughout the pews. Now there is himself, two other priests, the organist in the balcony and, on occasion, a camera operator to stream the service to people at home.

"To say Mass in an empty space is awkward," Benitez said. "But we know many people are following us."

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The congregation numbers some 1,600 families, he said, with a range of ages and is active in outreach to refugees and the poor. For now the services are livestreamed on Facebook, but the church is working on other platforms and, being in the time of Lent, more broadcasts to encompass Holy Week and Easter celebrations.

"In the beginning, when we suspended all the masses, people were upset," Benitez said. "They were feeling that we were abandoning them."

And so it was, on Thursday morning, unable to bless them individually, or as a congregation, he took to the sky to bless the city.

Daniele's Diamond DA42 twin-engine turbo prop plane lifted off from the Rochester airport headed south, flew counter-clockwise around the community then zig-zagged across the city. Instead of climbing to a typical 6,000 to 8,000 feet, Daniele said, he got permission from Rochester air traffic control to fly low.

He would slow to 80 knots, or roughly 90 mph, Benitez would open the window and reach out one of the bottles of holy water he brought for the occasion. Then he would say a prayer — "extended to everyone," Benitez said, "praying for the whole world and the whole country."

The flight lasted about an hour.

The other day, Benitez received a picture from one of his parishioners of her three teenage children, huddled together on the floor, watching something on a smartphone. She wrote to Benitez that they hadn't been so close since they were little. But spending time together, they were "calm, in peace."

When he rises to address his congregation from the empty church on Sunday, he will deliver a message of family.

"The world is stopping. This is an opportunity in the midst of a crisis," Benitez said. "One of the positives things is families are together. ... Good things could come. Families could strengthen their bonds.

"The message is, 'Don't worry. God is with you. Enjoy your family, your people ... be at peace, eat well, rest and rechange energy. And of course, be safe."

Follow reporter Brian Sharp on Twitter @sharproc.

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