Search continues for Brazilian priest strapped to helium balloons

Published: 2008-04-23

SAO PAULO, Brazil (CNS) -- The search continues for Father Adelir Antonio de Carli, a Brazilian priest who strapped himself to 1,000 helium balloons April 20 and floated out to sea in southern Brazil. Father de Carli was attempting to raise money for a spiritual truck stop in the port city of Paranagua. His goal was to beat a 19-hour record of helium balloons in flight. A Brazilian air force jet spotted a handful of balloons in the water 30 miles from Florianopolis April 22, but when rescue vessels arrived on the scene they found no sign of the missing priest. The priest lost touch with ground personnel eight hours into his flight, after asking for help in using a Global Positioning System device he was carrying. At St. Christopher Church in Paranagua, where Father de Carli served, parishioners set up 24-hour shifts to pray for the priest.

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