LYNNWOOD — Dawit Kibanu gently cradled the small glass jar with his pet fish, Dorothy.

When his turn came, the seventh-grader proudly held up his pet as Deacon George Peterson said a blessing.

The deacon’s words drowned in the laughter of 240 children and their barking, meowing and screeching pets.

The entire St. Thomas More School celebrated the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi on Tuesday afternoon with the Blessing of the Animals.

The service is a beloved annual tradition for some Catholic, Lutheran and other congregations.

Francis was born in 1181 in Assisi, present-day Italy, and became the patron saint of animals and the environment. He considered animals his brothers and sisters. He was known for his love of nature and all creatures.

“We honor that, and we teach children about God’s creation,” said St. Thomas More Principal Terri Fewel.

The school has students in kindergarten through eighth grade. All of them gathered outside the school Tuesday to watch the service and pet each other’s animals.

Teachers lost count of all the animals that received blessings. There were dogs, cats, a tiny kitten wrapped in a blanket, a bunny, a bird, several varieties of fish, frogs and other critters.

Peterson blessed all of them.

One student brought an unusual-looking reptile.

“Some of these animals, I didn’t know what they were,” he confessed afterward.

Peterson retired from a parish in Skagit County and attends St. Thomas More with his wife.

“My children always had dogs, cats, gerbils,” he said. “It’s good for kids to grow up with animals.”

Eighth-grader and student government President Evan Larson smiled as she saw her dad walking from the parking lot with their Great Dane, Cleo.

“We really like getting her blessed,” she said. “She is so old. We almost had to put her down last Friday, so this is special.”

Cleo is 12. Evan has been bringing her dog to the service every year since she was in kindergarten.

The Rev. Julie Josund, pastor of the Edmonds Lutheran Church, blessed animals at her church Sunday for the second year in a row.

She decided to hold the service after parishioners started asking about it.

“I was, frankly, a little nervous about it the first time,” she said. “But they were calm. They were perfect. Nobody peed, and nobody got into a fight.”

She blessed 40 animals Sunday, including a parrot, a classroom turtle and a guinea pig in a hat.

“Animals really strike a chord with a lot of people,” she said. “It adds an extra layer of delight at being able to have their beloved pets with them, and to have that part of their lives acknowledged and blessed.”

Katya Yefimova: 425-339-3452, kyefimova@heraldnet.com