They didn’t come two by two, but there certainly was a variety of animals at the Blessing of the Animals held on Saturday, October 23 at St. John’s Catholic Church.
The blessing of animals is a tradition observed every year on the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, which is October 4. This year, the local October 4 event was rained out. So the blessing had to be rescheduled for Saturday, October 23.
About 30 proud pet owners showed up on Saturday morning, many of them with two or more animals in tow. There were small dogs, large dogs, cats safely in cages, a rooster, a few horses, a pet bird and a diaper-clad monkey.
Father Verne Stapenhorst led Saturday’s animal blessing and told stories about the pets he had as a child, and the loyalty and love that pets give their owners. The group was led in prayer and then each animal and its owner received a special blessing and a poster of St. Francis of Assisi, who is known as the patron saint of animals and the environment.
Saturday’s blessing of the animals was the first one that 10-year-old Ivoree had attended. Ivoree and her family brought a pony, a horse, two dogs and a bird.
“I thought it was so fun because we got to see different kinds of animals, and I loved seeing the monkey,” Ivoree explained.
Blessing of the animals organizer, Tasha Gorman, was excited about Saturday’s turnout. “I was nervous rescheduling it, but excited that we had such a good variety of animals and that so many people brought more than one,” Gorman said. “Father Verne and I estimated that about 50 animals received blessings.”
This is the second year that the blessing of the animals has taken place in Moapa Valley.
