Bella, a stocky brown and white boxer, darted around in circles as 12-year-old Hailey James gripped the dog’s leash for dear life.
“She’s very excited because there’s a lot of dogs around,” Hailey said while struggling to break free from the leash that was slowly wrapping her up.
Several dozen other animals — dogs, cats, ducks and even a pot-bellied pig — shared Bella’s excitement Thursday during Holy Redeemer Elementary School’s 14th annual Blessing of the Animals.
“It’s really a great delight for the kids and the families,” said Msgr. Jack Foley, pastor emeritus at Holy Redeemer and officiator of the ceremony.
The mass blessing is in the spirit of 12th-century Franciscan monk Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals, said Connie Pollock, who does public relations for the school.
Children brought their animals or photographs of their animals to the holy ritual that signifies baptism and renewal, she said.
And while the procession was nowhere near as orderly as the biblical march onto Noah’s Ark, one by one the animals stood before the monsignor to receive a few drops of holy water from his aspergillum — a small wand for blessings that derives its name from the Latin root aspergere, which means “to sprinkle.”
Cradled in the arms of her guardian, a duck named Quack examined the wand with a curious beak.
“I think he likes holy water,” the monsignor said. “The duck likes holy water.”
The blessing came at a good time for Quack, who was recovering from a run-in with another animal.
“We fixed him up, gave him some antibiotics and he made it,” Quack’s owner Elizabeth Maslow said.
In the more than two decades that Matt, a 22-year-old turtle, has trod the Earth, Thursday marked his first blessing, his owner Jan Morrissey said.
Matt didn’t move much as the monsignor sprinkled water on his shell.
When Bella reached the front of the line, a bit calmer now, she looked up and cocked her head to the side, trying to lap up the holy water as it trickled down.
Then freshly blessed, Bella shook her head as if fresh out of the tub and tugged at her leash to drag Hailey back across the playground.
