Urgent! Saint Rita’s Church Where All Pets Welcome Needs Help!

Yesterday the church was overfilled as usual by the time I arrived, however early. Outside  a camel, a pony and two goats were there to greet me for the annual blessing of animals.  Multitudes of persons inside were lovingly carrying there doggies in their arms., and kitties in crates.

I found the rather raspy breathing of a pug next to me calming and comforting.  Before the service began, at times you could hear a few barks, a whimper, or yip here and there, but the pets were as usual much better behaved than their owners, who made much more noise than they.

I grieved that I was no longer holding my beloved little Dachshund Potiron, but felt his loving spirit with me.  There was such love and acceptance in the air. In front was a magnificent white parrot perched on a shoulder of a woman, who seemed totally indifferent to all the doggies and cats.  It is certainly true that people who love animals have the most capacity to love and tolerate humans too, as animals constantly teach and model  perfect unconditional love!

Saint Rita’s church in Paris is the only Catholic church in Paris and possibly the only church that I know of in France that allows pets to accompany their owners for all services year round!  I first discovered St. Rita’s about 10 years ago, when I entered somewhat nervously holding my dear Potiron to my chest.  I was reassured in seeing  other doggies there and pleasantly surprised how quiet they were throughout the rather long Latin Mass.

The dogs were all perfectly observant, as if they all knew this was a place of worship that welcomed them with open hearts. After the Mass, the priest came over to bless Potiron, as he did with the other dogs.   In addition to this admirable trait of extending a loving welcome to pets, St. Rita’s has a very noticable sweet energy that is so filled with a soft kindness and acceptance.

Places, rooms, stones and all edifices absorb energy from their occupants and this energy can be “felt” or experienced by human sensitivities to such.  I think  the overwhelming wave of sweetness and benevolence that permeates the air here at St Rita’s is due by and  large  to the animals who come here on a regular basis.

This Catholic church is unlike any other catholic church, because it belongs to the Gallican Catholic Church, which has a rather interesting history and roots in France, rather than Rome.  From early 1300 until post revolution, this was the Catholism prevalent in France. In 1681, Louis XIV proclaimed Gallican Catholicism as the official church of France, refudiating Roman papal dominion.  Ironically it was Napoleon Bonaparte, who after the French revolution in 1801 reestablished papal  connection to the French church, only to find himself later excommunicated by pope Pius VII.    In 1870 the Vatican’s doctrine of papal infallibility,  further propelled the Gallican church into schism as they refused to bow under complete control of the pope and left the mainstream Roman church.

Their liturgy, sacraments, basic theological doctrines are the same as the Roman Catholic church, except their Mass is the old Tritidine Mass in Latin.  One might easily assumed that this church  is overly traditional because of this, but au contraire!

Besides their refusal of papal domination, they allow their priests to marry, women’s ordination to the diaconate, and tolerance of remarriage by divorce persons without church annulment, and do not excommunicate.  They reinterate that love, chrisitan charity and tolereance should always proceed and dominate rather than exclusion based any critical criteria.

Most prominently unusual is their doctrinal beliefs about the sanctity of animals.  They honor animals as true creatures of God, stating in reference that the Holy Spirit often took the form of a dove, and as Christ was likened to a lamb.  Therefore they welcome with open arms these beautiful souls to all their services.

As anyone who has ever loved an animal, you know the innocent and goodness of their souls goes far beyond that of humans, as they do not have the capacity of malevolence.  They are all indeed God’s teachers and mirrors of loyalty, loving nature, and forgiveness.

Yesterday’s blessings of the animals had a rather bittersweet feeling in the air, as the owners of the church have sold the building, citing it was too expensive in upkeep. There is currently a demolition sign on the church wall stating it will be used to construct 19 apartments.                                                                                                                             The Gallican church was unable to come up with the 3.3 million euros needed to purchase the church.  This neo-Gothic edifice, however lovely to my eye, was not deemed worthy of saving from an architectural viewpoint by the city of Paris.

I think it is sad that any church should be destroyed because it does not meet some specific criteria of architectural significance, but especially St. Rita’s!  True, the congregation has outgrown the building, as the last two times I attended services there, crowds of people lined the walls and outflowed into the street.

When I think of all the mega churches in America that raise millions in funds, I find it very sad that there are not so far any financial benefactors for St Rita’s in Paris with its unique history and its loving ecumenical diversity for all of God’s creatures.

If you know of anyone or any venue that has the financial means to help find St. Rita a new church home, or buy the existing one, please forward them a link to this post.  Perhaps there is a wealthy animal lover somewhere in the world who would like to make a philanthropic donation to ensure that St. Rita will always have a church here in Paris for her faithful and our beautiful pet souls.

Many Americans have generously helped fund restoration projects here. So surely with some public awareness, who knows ,some of our own countrymen could possibly help!

I have faith that St. Rita who is the patron saint of lost causes, will certainly find someone or someway to fund buying or building a new church!  For my part, I find this community to be a Church based on Love rather than unyeilding laws.

Addendum:  Today, August 3, 2016, the police came to evacuate again Saint Rita, whose faithful have fought so hard to stay. There is much in the French press in protest of this latest sad maneuver.  Once again a miracle is needed!