On a bright weekend morning in the courtyard outside of Corpus Christi Parish in Portsmouth, pets were under foot.

“It's like you got everything here,” said Shane Buzzell, his 160 lb. Great Dane, named Louis, at his side. “It's like Noah's ark.”

The animals weren’t in pairs, though. They were with their people, gathering to receive a blessing from the parish’s leader, Pastor Gary Belliveau. It's an annual event at some Catholic churches, with deep spiritual roots.

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“Traditionally the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, many people just on the surface go, ‘Oh, that's the saint with animals.’ Uh, no, there's more to it than that,” Belliveau explained. Francis's teachings in the 13th century weren’t mainstream, often forcing him

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