When a Catholic priest in Poland wanted to make sure his parishioners were attending Sunday Mass, he devised a method to verify attendance: taking fingerprints.

Father Grzegorz Sowa, the parish priest in the town of Gryfow Slaski, wanted to make sure youngsters in the town weren’t shirking their religious duties by skipping Mass. So, according to a report from Reuters, he came up with the idea of installing an electronic reader at the church door. The kids pass their fingers in front of the reader each Sunday and – Bingo! — get credit for attendance.

The system is not without its rewards, earthly as well as heavenly. Children who have perfect attendance for three years are exempt from having to take Father Sowa’s rigorous exam required for the rite of Confirmation.

Tags: attendance, Mass