When God's House Doubles As a Doghouse

An interesting university parish in New Jersey:

HALEDON, N.J. - The priest, dressed in a flowing red robe, says Mass. He reads from the Gospel, gives a homily, prays for the sick, blesses bread and wine. He could be at any Roman Catholic church in the country, except for the dogs near the altar.

A black, bow-legged mutt sprawls out for a nap, a white wolfish type paws gently at a parishioner as the priest talks of Pentecost and Bablyon.

Is this God's house or a doghouse? Jesus Christ Prince of Peace Chapel is both. The Rev. Louis Scurti brings his two dogs everywhere, and that includes Sunday Mass. The dogs make people feel at home, Scurti says. Churchgoers add that the dogs give them a sense of calm and peace.

"At first I was like, omigosh, there's dogs in church," said Carrie Mampel, 25, who began attending Prince of Peace in 1998 as a student at William Paterson University, where the chapel is part of the university's Catholic campus ministry. "Then I realized how cool it was."

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Scurti believes people could take a lesson from dogs on loyalty, fidelity, forgiveness and undying love. But having his dogs at Mass was less a decision than a natural evolution from their living situation. If there's a spiritual core to his dogs' presence during the liturgy, it's about making people feel included and at home in the church, he said.

Twenty years ago, Scurti's mother got him a dog when he became campus minister. At that time, no chapel existed, and he celebrated Mass in the living room of the Catholic Campus Ministry House where he lived. Students sat on couches, and the dogs wandered around their home.

In 1998, the Paterson diocese built Prince of Peace chapel next door, but Scurti and the dogs continued to live in the center. For him and the dogs, the chapel is home, and he hopes that parishioners pick up on that feeling.

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Scurti said the dogs don't "remove the sacredness of the liturgy at all," and parishioners seem to have no complaints. Paulette Wicks, of Wayne, said the dogs make Mass more relaxing, and send the message that all are welcome.

Anne Drago, also of Wayne, echoed that.

"God's house is open to everybody," she said.

My Comments:
I'm told that St. Thomas Aquinas parish here in Charlottesville, which is the Dominican parish for the University of Virginia, had a pastor about 30 years ago who used to bring his dog to Mass. He would even process in to Mass with the dog at his side.