Pets Receive Special Blessing From Hackettstown Church, In-Person And Virtually

HACKETTSTOWN, NJ — St. James Episcopal Church recently opened their doors to pets of all sizes and types, as part of celebrating the Feast of St. Francis.

According to the Humane Society of the United States, St. Francis was the patron saint of animals in the Catholic faith, who believed that caring for all animals was a component of faith in God.

As part of that, the invite from St. James Episcopal Church, was for people to bring along pets of “any and all varieties to our service or on the lawn for blessings.”

The church asked that pets would either be leashed or in a carrier; and performed virtual blessings. People who couldn’t bring their pets in-person could instead bring a photo that would be blessed. Kids were told they could bring a stuffed animal, if they didn’t have a pet of their own.

The church reported that were numerous dogs, three rabbits and one guinea pig among the pets brought to the church during the in-person, socially-distanced service. Some of these pets are pictured below:

Some of the dogs, as seen in the photos below, were dressed for the occasion:

For St. James' Service, watch the following video:

Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.