By Michael Francis Gore
MADRID (Reuters) – Dozens of canine and cats, a couple of parrots and a rooster queued up alongside their house owners outdoors a church in Madrid on Friday, ready their flip to be blessed by a Catholic priest in a preferred annual ritual.
In Spain, the feast day of Saint Anthony the Abbot celebrates pets, because the third-century Egyptian hermit is honored as a patron saint of animals.
Based on legend, he carried out quite a few miracles involving animals, reminiscent of restoring sight to blind boarlets.
On the steps of the baroque Church of St Anthony, 87-year-old priest Angel Garcia sprinkled holy water on the creatures, wishing them good well being in addition to happiness for his or her house owners. Some parishioners held up photos of their pets on telephone screens to be blessed.
Milagros Hernandez, 53, mentioned she felt very happy when her canine Yako acquired the blessing, including that “it might appear like a foolish factor to do – nevertheless it’s not”.
Chris Ludlow, an English-language instructor from Toronto who lives in Spain, informed Reuters the “unbelievable” custom confirmed “why individuals actually consider animals as their household and never simply pets”.
