It was raining cats and dogs Monday morning, but that didn’t put a damper on Summerville Catholic School’s annual Blessing of Pets ceremony.
After the morning prayer, students strolled outside and were greeted by their parents, many of whom were accompanied by popular family pets such as dogs, cats and hamsters and others who had less traditional pets like snakes and hermit crabs.
The children excitedly maneuvered from one animal to the next, petting the dogs and cats and inquisitively studying the colorful snakes and caged crabs. As interested as the children were to examine the myriad of pets on hand, some of the animals seemed almost as eager to “introduce” themselves to the children. Many of the dogs playfully nipped at the student’s legs and licked their hands, while the cats welcomed children who wanted to stroke their backs and scratch behind their ears.
Deacon Gene Phillips, of St. Theresa of the Little Flower Catholic Church, presided over the Catholic ritual. He made his way through the crowd of people blessing both the real pets and the stuffed animals that were distributed to the younger students who did not have a pet visiting from home.
“You really see the love permeating between the children and the animals,” Phillips said after he had blessed all of the animals. “They have such a special relationship.”
Principal Lisa Tanner said she received numerous phone calls Monday morning from parents concerned that the ceremony would be postponed because of the weather.
“It was really important to them that their pets be blessed,” Tanner said. “It’s important to the kids also because they’re so proud of their pets and love having them here.”
October 4 marks the annual observation of the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, known as the patron saint of animals. Catholic churches, schools and other establishments have pets blessed in remembrance of St. Francis’ love for all creatures.
The Blessing of Pets has been an annual event at Summerville Catholic for about a quarter-century and parents and children will once again look forward to next year’s ceremony – rain or shine. For more pictures, visit http://spotted.journalscene.com.

Contact Michael Tannebaum at 873-9424 ext. 215 or mtannebaum@journalscene.com