Tonight I attended Mass at St. Cecelia's in the Back Bay, where several parishioners brought their pooches for a blessing in the name of St. Francis. During the Consecration, one mutt barked just as the Host was being elevated. (Why didn't someone just train him to ring the Communion bell with his mouth?) As the assembled dogs were being sprinkled with holy water at the end of Mass, a blonde lab and a shepherd-collie mix had a verbal disagreement, although it was probably just some canine business that had nothing to do with theology.
Later in the evening, I saw four raccoons manage to make their way across Broadway, Somerville without being hit by the # 89 bus. Francesco di Assisi even watches over pests!
