St. Margaret Catholic School celebrated the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, Tuesday with the blessing of pets belonging to its students and their families.

Father Scott Conner, a priest of St. Margaret Catholic Church, said the event has been staged a number of years.

“Actually, this will be the first time that I do the blessing of the pets. I’ve seen it done a number of times,” he said.

More than two dozen pets were brought into the parking lot by their owners, followed by teachers leading students to the St. Margaret parking lot.

“The church gives us all of the prayers, so it’s just a matter of saying those prayers. And then, I’ll bring a blessing,” he said.

Debbie Martin, the mother of a sixth-grader, said she brought her “boodle” — a Boston terrier and poodle mix named “Sammie” — for the third year in a row.

“I think it’s awesome. My son was very excited this morning to be able to bring his dog,” Martin said.

Jacob Rhodes, 10, a fifth-grader at St. Margaret who brought his dog, Sebastian, said the day marked his first pet blessing with a real dog. He said fifth-grade through eighth-grade classes were allowed to bring their actual pets. He said the underclassmen could only bring stuffed animals or photographs to represent their pet for the blessing.

“It’s kind of like good luck for the dogs,” he said.

Pam Soileau, a first-grade teacher at the school, said the day is always exciting for the students.

“We’ve been learning about Saint Francis this week and his contribution to the church. It’s fun for the kids. They love it. They look forward to it,” she said.