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To: Ish who wrote (680)	3/3/2001 6:56:03 PM
From: Volsi Mimir	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 6901

Blast off---Where we going? Fans of sharpshooter saint lobby Vatican (Ananova) Admirers of a sharpshooter who became a saint are lobbying the Vatican to make him the patron saint of handgun owners. John Michael Snyder, a gun fancier and ex-Jesuit seminarian, has awarded medals to men who think St Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother deserves Vatican recognition. The event was held at a hotel just down the street from St Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. Born Francis Possenti in 1838 in Assisi, the saint is also known as Gabriel Possenti. He is one of three saints made during the early 20th century papacy of Benedict XV. "It is obvious that St Gabriel Possenti is very much a saint for the 21st century," Mr Snyder said of the man whose sharpshooting skills scared away marauders from the Italian village of Isola del Gran Sasso in 1860. Possenti is said to have confronted renegade soldiers who were about to rape a village woman. At that moment, a lizard darted by, and Possenti shot it dead in a display of marksmanship that impressed the soldiers so much they fled. Speaking on the saint's feast day, Mr Snyder said making Possenti the patron of handgun owners would show that the Vatican was "courageous enough to stick its neck out for the right of individuals to defend themselves against evil and tyranny". The Vatican has approved of many saints as patrons of various occupations or groups, from maids to chefs, from hunters to funeral directors. But Mr Snyder, who heads the St Gabriel Possenti Society Inc, in Arlington, Virginia, might not have a quick answer to his prayers. The Vatican press office says it has noted in the past that MR Snyder, who said the Vatican told him a few years ago that he needed to enlist bishops around the world for his cause, said he would not be discouraged.