October 17, 2008

St. Isidore shooting match is part of celebration of rural life

By John Shaughnessy

There are times when Benedictine Father Guy Mansini likes to think of himself as a straight shooter.

So that helps to explain why he bought a Remington shotgun six years ago, shortly after he became the pastor of St. Isidore the Farmer Parish in Perry County in southern Indiana.

Father Guy didn’t buy the shotgun for protection. Instead, he purchased it so he could participate in one of the most unusual parish-sponsored events in the archdiocese—the annual shooting match at St. Isidore.

“The shooting match is the signal event at St. Isidore. It’s beyond the urban imagination of most of our diocesan clergy,” Father Guy says with a laugh. “Most of the people in the city don’t know what goes on in southern Indiana.”

The annual shooting contest has been going on at St. Isidore Parish at least since the late 1960s, according to its pastor.

“The matches were started in order to retire the debt for building the church in 1968,” Father Guy says. “It’s part of a public celebration of rural life. It’s one of the biggest celebrations in the county. Families do come and there are things to do for the kids. The center of the event is the shooting match. The prizes are beef and pork.”

Father Guy acknowledges that the shooting match involving targets is a change of pace for someone who grew up in Indianapolis in St. Andrew the Apostle Parish. Still, he figured he should get involved in the parish event so he took lessons from some of the parishioners.

“It turns out that it’s pretty simple to shoot,” he says. “They show you how to shoot so you don’t dislocate your shoulder.”

He’s looking forward to the event, which will be on Oct. 19.

“I have had luck, but not last year,” the pastor says. “One year, I won a ham.” †

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