Annual Blessing of the Animals Done in Drive-by Fashion Due to Pandemic in South Texas
Mission, Texas
By: Sandra Sanchez, Originally Published by The Border Report
Aside from his love for four-legged critters, ‘Father Roy’ is best known for giving migrants a voice and speaking out against the border wall.
MISSION, Texas (Border Report) — Rosalie Romero was having a hard time steering her mega-ton pickup as she waited in a procession of vehicles for a drive-through blessing of the animals on Sunday afternoon Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Mission.
Her two yapping Chihuahuas,”Tostada” and “Lee,” who sported thimble-sized Cowboy hats, excitedly barked out of her driver’s window, while she delicately held a baby turtle, and watched after a fuzzy, white 10-week-old puppy “Purque.” In the back of the truck, two of her children sat with a Great Dane, “Tina,” two turtles, “Pancho” and “Pancha,” and a quiet black pig who was taking the scene all in.
At the front of the church, Father Roy Snipes blessed the pups and other animals with holy water as they drove past. The blessing of the animals is one of the popular annual Masses, but due to the record cases of coronavirus in South Texas this year, it was done on the street and from a distance.
Nevertheless, Snipes couldn’t help but approach many of the vehicles and give his furry parishioners a pat on the head, or, in some cases, rub their slimy scales.
Father Roy Snipes led a processional from a nearby park to the front of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Mission, Texas, where he blessed animals as they drove by on Sunday, Oct. 4, 2020. Due to the coronavirus, the annual Blessing of the Animals Mass was held outdoors on the street. (Border Report Photos/Sandra Sanchez)