Who is a very good boy? Madrid Church douses pets with holy water by Reuters

By Michael Francis Gore

MADRID (Reuters) – Dozens of dogs, cats, some parrots and a chicken lined up alongside their owners outside a Madrid church on Friday, waiting their turn to be blessed by a Catholic priest in a popular annual ritual.

In Spain, the feast day of Saint Anthony the Abbot celebrates pets, where the third-century Egyptian hermit is venerated as the patron saint of animals.

According to legend, he performed many miracles involving animals, such as restoring sight to blind pigs.

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 health and happiness to their owners. Some parishioners uploaded pictures of their pets to phone screens to bless them.

Milagros Hernandez, 53, said she was very happy when her dog Yako received the blessing, and added: “It may seem ridiculous – but it is not.”

Chris Ludlow, an English teacher from Toronto who lives in Spain, told Reuters the “wonderful” tradition shows “why people consider animals their family and not just pets.”