On Saturday, Oct. 7,St. Joseph Church commemorated St. Francis of Assisi Day with the blessing of the animals. St. Francis is the patron saint of animals and the environment. The annual event was sponsored by Catholic Daughters of the Americas, Court Our Lady of Victory #564. Deacon Noel (Bud) Bryant presided at the service.
Six dogs and two cats with their owners received a special blessing. Holy cards, pet medals, and St. Francis medals were available for free. Margie Nanak won the "Guess the Number of Bones in the Jar" game. Pam Thornton’s name was drawn and received a statue of St. Francis. Charlotte England and Shirley Hartwick's names were also drawn. They each received "I Love MyPet" mugs.
Refreshments for the pets and their owners were provided by Angelique Ford, Trudy Pascale and GretchenZell. Leonard Zell assisted with the set-up and take down at the event.
PICTURE: Deacon Bud blesses Bandit (a cat) in his carrier while hisowner, Dave Nanak, looks on. Charlotte England and Maxey (in thebackground) observe the preceding.
