MEXICO-PETS/BLESSING Mexican animals receive traditional church blessing to protect them from evil

Record ID: 140523

  • Title: MEXICO-PETS/BLESSING Mexican animals receive traditional church blessing to protect them from evil
  • Date: 1st September 2015
  • Summary: OAXACA CITY, OAXACA (AUGUST 31, 2015) (REUTERS) PARISHIONERS GATHERED OUTSIDE CATHOLIC CHURCH/ WOMAN WALKING UP WITH DOG MAN CARRYING DOG WHILE WOMAN ARRANGES FLOWER ON DOG'S HEAD DOG, WRAPPED IN BLANKET, WEARING MEDAL AND FLOWER ON HEAD STATUE OF SAINT RAYMOND NONNATUS IN CHURCH WITH FLOWER ARRANGEMENTS AT HIS FEET WOMAN POSING FOR PICTURES NEXT TO STATUE WHILE HOLDING TWO SMARTLY DRESSED DOGS WOMAN SMILING WITH TWO DOGS VARIOUS OF PRIEST SPRINKLING HOLY WATER ON PETS AND THEIR OWNERS VARIOUS OF PRIEST HOLDING BUCKET OF HOLY WATER AND USING IT TO SPRINKLE CONGREGATION TWO POODLES BEING HELD UP TO RECEIVE BLESSING PARROTS IN CAGE RECEIVING BLESSING BOY HOLDING PET PARROT IN CAGE (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) ROMAN CATHOLIC PARISHIONER, MARIA DEL CARMEN GUZMAN, SAYING: "I have brought him to be blessed every year and Saint Raymond Nonnatus, who is patron saint of animals, has protected him a lot. I know that in history he was the pastor of the animals and he is very loved, Saint Raymond." WOMAN HOLDING UP TWO DOGS TO RECEIVE BLESSING BY PRIEST WITH HOLY WATER MORE OF FATHER SPRINKLING ANIMALS WITH HOLY WATER DOG WEARING BOW TIE BEING SPRINKLED WITH HOLY WATER MORE OF DOGS BEING HELD UP TO BE SPRINKLED WITH HOLY WATER (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PARISH PRIEST OF OAXACA'S LA MERCED ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, FRANCISCO REYES, SAYING: "It's everyone's home. If we don't look after it and continue polluting it and not preserving the plants, animals, and we do not take care of ourselves, because we will end with this world that God created for us, for our happiness. So our faith goes in that sense." MORE OF DOGS RECEIVING BLESSING FATHER BLESSING CONGREGATION ANIMALS BEING BLESSED CAT WEARING HAT AND SWEATER BEING STROKED BY LITTLE GIRL
  • Embargoed: 16th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA12DY6HPKHP87QGPOYGGJCOAJJ
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Local residents in the southern Mexican city of Oaxaca, on Monday (August 31), brought their pets to be blessed on the feast day of Saint Raymond Nonnatus.
    Dozens of local churchgoers brought their pets to Oaxaca City's La Merced Catholic Church, in the city's historic centre.
    Because of the special occasion, many of the parishioners dressed their dogs, cats, parrots and other animals in colourful clothing - some with flowered headdresses - pants, capes and other accessories.
    Cute pets were snugly held up by their owners to receive a sprinkling of holy water.
    "I have brought him to be blessed every year and Saint Raymond Nonnatus, who is patron saint of animals, has protected him a lot. I know that in history he was the pastor of the animals and he is very loved, Saint Raymond," explained Roman Catholic parishioner, Maria del Carmen Guzman about why she brought her pet dog.
    The exact origin of the tradition remains a mystery, but many local residents believe the tradition began when local farmers brought mules, bulls, horses and oxen - working animals - to be blessed at La Merced, which was once on the outskirts of the city.
    Parish priest of Oaxaca's La Merced, Francisco Reyes, said it is God's will for humans to look after animals and the environment.
    "It's everyone's home. If we don't look after it and continue polluting it and not preserving the plants, animals, and we do not take care of ourselves, because we will end with this world that God created for us, for our happiness. So our faith goes in that sense," Reyes said.
    August 31 is the only day of the year in which animals are blessed at the church.
    The Spanish Saint, Raymond Nonnatus (1204-1240), is also considered the patron saint of midwives, pregnant women, unborn children and women in labour. In Mexico, he is also invoked for silence and protection against curses.
    He was introduced to Mexico by the Order of Our Lady of Mercy (Mercedarians), where he became one of the most important saints of devotion. He is also considered the patron saint of the town of Baitoa, in the Dominican Republic, according to the book Art and Faith in Mexico: The Nineteenth-century Retablo Tradition, published in 2001 by the University of New Mexico Press.
    Oaxaca, however, is the only place where he is considered to be a protector of animals.
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