Devout faith and an association with God's representative on Earth isn't enough to convince airport officials that you're not a security threat, it would seem.
Pilgrims flying on the Vatican's new charter airline were told that they couldn't take holy water onboard their flight at Tarbes-Lourdes airport, in the south of France.
The passengers were told that the bottles of holy water from the shrine at Lourdes were not acceptable hand luggage, as they contravened the maximum 100 milliliter size restrictions.
According to the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera, one of the pilgrims was so aghast at the thought of handing over his bottle of sacred water to airport security officials that he drank it on the spot.
Francesco Pizzo, president of Mistral Air, commented: "There are international rules that state that liquids cannot be carried on board. These have to be respected."
However, he added that the airline had provided small bottles shaped like the Madonna and full of holy water on every seat for the disenchanted passengers.
Lourdes is the first destination served by the new airline, a partnership between Mistral Air and the pilgrimage bureau of the Vatican.
Further flights are expected to Santiago di Compostela, Spain, Fatima in Portugal and the Sanctuary of the Virgin in Guadalupe, Mexico.
