All God’s creatures: Pets receive special blessing for feast day of St. Francis of Assisi
Pets receive special blessing for feast day of St. Francis of Assisi
St. Patrick Catholic School student Kai Brady, 7, checks out Andora Gardner’s American alligator during Friday afternoon's pet blessing at the school. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski
Red Labrador Retriever “Bobo,” owned by Brian Smith of East Freedom, gets some special attention from St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church pastor Father Allen Zeth after the pet blessing at St. Patrick Catholic School in Newry on Friday. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski
St. Patrick Catholic School pre-schooler Dylan Croft, 4, checks out the kindergarten’s class pet, a leopard gecko named “Jade,” during the pet blessing. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski
St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church pastor Father Allen Zeth blesses pets and their caretakers at St. Patrick Catholic School in Newry on Friday afternoon. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski
Dogs got a chance to meet each other during the pet blessing at St. Patrick Catholic School in Newry on Friday afternoon. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski
St. Patrick Catholic School student Kai Brady, 7, checks out Andora Gardner’s American alligator during Friday afternoon's pet blessing at the school. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski
Red Labrador Retriever “Bobo,” owned by Brian Smith of East Freedom, gets some special attention from St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church pastor Father Allen Zeth after the pet blessing at St. Patrick Catholic School in Newry on Friday. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski
St. Patrick Catholic School pre-schooler Dylan Croft, 4, checks out the kindergarten’s class pet, a leopard gecko named “Jade,” during the pet blessing. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski
St. Patrick Roman Catholic Church pastor Father Allen Zeth blesses pets and their caretakers at St. Patrick Catholic School in Newry on Friday afternoon. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski
Dogs got a chance to meet each other during the pet blessing at St. Patrick Catholic School in Newry on Friday afternoon. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski
NEWRY -- It wasn't exactly Noah's Ark, but the parking lot of St. Patrick School in Newry was filled with dogs, geckos and even an American alligator as students and parishioners gathered to celebrate the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi on Friday morning.
The Catholic Church annually honors St. Francis with a feast day on Oct. 4.
St. Francis is the patron saint of animals and the namesake for the Franciscan monastic tradition.
Father Allen Zeth led the assembled crowd through a brief prayer and a reading from Genesis 2:19-20a before blessing the crowd of approximately 75 students, 30 community members and 15 pets with a sprinkle of holy water.
"May God who is wonderful in all his works, guide us, show us his love and reward us this day with a blessing of his pets and animals," Zeth prayed.
Several dogs joined in Zeth's prayer, adding an occasional bark or enthusiastic yip during his brief sermon, so much so that the prayer turned into more of a shouting match as Zeth raised his voice to be heard over the howling of the attendees.
A group of younger students brought their pet leopard gecko, while members of the Newry community came with their poodles, pugs and pitbull mixes, among other breeds.
"God, who confers his gifts on all living things, often used the service of animals, or made them symbolic reminders of the gifts of salvation," Zeth said.
Andora "Annie" Gardner attended the blessing with her daughter, Taylor Smith, and her 8-year-old American alligator Clyde. Gardner taped Clyde's mouth shut prior to the event out of an abundance of caution, even though he is not prone to biting, she said.
"I've never had him bite in all the years I've had him, but around a lot of kids, you don't want to take that chance," Gardner said.
According to Gardner, although alligators are uncommon pets in Pennsylvania, they are legal to own where she lives in Blair County.
Gardner brought Clyde to the ceremony to ensure his health and long life, she said.
According to school Principal Tara Steinbugl, St. Patrick School invites the parish community to attend the annual pet blessing ceremony.
"It's a nice way to honor the feast day, as well as to give the pets who are part of our families an extra blessing as they are part of God's creation," Steinbugl said.
Steinbugl brought her three dogs, Abby, Mya and Rambo, to receive the blessing from Zeth.
Brenna Hamming came to the event with her almost 2-year-old pug, Portia, to meet her son Logan, who attends St. Patrick.
"It's so she can have a long and good life with us as part of our family," Brenna and Logan Hamming said.
Mirror Staff Writer Conner Goetz is at 814-946-7535.