Sunday 4 September – Saint Mamas Day – Annual blessing of household pets – Archbishopric of Good Hope, Cape Town

Sunday 4 September

With a woof woof here, and a miaow miaow there, a pony and kiddies everywhere, we celebrated our seventh annual St Mamas Pets Blessing Day on Sunday 4 September, in the grounds of the Metropolis in Rondebosch, at the invitation of His Eminence Archbishop Sergios and convened by Pepe Sofianos.

This year we had a grand turnout of dogs of all shades, shapes and sizes and despite a few raised hackles and some growls in the beginning, they calmed down, made friends and loved being praised and petted by everyone.

Among  other very welcome guests were Deacon Father Nicholas Esterhuizen,  Mr Fotis Sousalis, Chairman of the Hellenic Community, Ariadne Parali, Headmistress of the Greek School and Mr Niko Kommatos, senior teacher at the school, who also brought their gorgeous dogs to be blessed.

The Greek Consul, Mr Thomas Matsoukas also attended with his awesome Husky called Zack, whose blue eyes enchanted everyone.

We even had two pussycats who proudly showed off by walking around on their leashes!

His Eminence Archbishop Sergios and Pater Nikolaos started the proceedings with a prayer for animals and their keepers.Then everyone lined up to have their pets blessed by Pater Nikolaos, including a special blessing for the little pony.

We were blessed with perfect weather so the rest of the afternoon flew by with lucky prize draws and lots of fun and games, high excitement and of course, pony rides, which was a huge hit with the little ones.

Yummy eats were served for the kids and the adults and then it was time to wind down with the traditional bonfire and the kids toasted their marshmallows in the embers. That’s always a big favourite with them and something they really look forward to.

Finally everyone went home hugging their pet goody bags and prizes that were kindly sponsored by Purina again. We are always very grateful for their generous and ongoing support which makes this day so enjoyable and memorable both for the children and their pets.

Also grateful thanks to Evgenia Sofianos, Gabriel Athiros, Carol Vikos,Vailis Vikos, Crystal-Jade Lerios and Gerry Lancellas for their willing help and for all the great photographs.

The kids carried with them a goodwill message from Saint Mamas to treasure not only their own pets but also to respect and have compassion for all living creatures and the environment.

See you next year!

By  Pepe Sofianos.