Overview
- From Jan. 17–18, parishes in cities including Madrid, Oviedo, Pontevedra, Palencia, Avilés, Vigo, Lalín, Toledo, Gijón and Puebla held the traditional St. Anthony Abbot blessings with strong turnout.
- Clergy used the ceremonies to deliver social messages, with Madrid’s Padre Ángel highlighting companionship as an antidote to loneliness and others urging care for creation.
- While dogs dominated, pets ranged from cats and tortoises to a hamster, a chinchilla, birds, rabbits, a snail in Madrid and even a horse in Toledo.
- Customs included holy water blessings, processions and the distribution of blessed bread or sugar‑free cookies, with some priests extending remote blessings via social media and Toledo lighting the customary bonfire.
- In Puebla, the event intersected with debate over Mexico City’s late‑2025 ban on live‑animal sales, as a local priest said the measure can curb abuse while attendees voiced differing views on prohibition versus regulation.