After wandering onto the parish property, 'Casey,' the adopted parish cat, reminds parishioners of God's creation and love
DETROIT — It was an early Saturday morning a few years ago when Marianne Peggie onboarded her most loyal and enthusiastic employee at Sweetest Heart of Mary Catholic Church.
“I saw three of them walking through our back lot like Charlie’s Angels: one black, one blonde and one brunette,” Peggie said. “I bent down to their level with my arms stretched out, and two ran away, but the blonde one stayed.”
The blonde, now known as "Casey" for Blessed Solanus Casey, has become a well-known part of parish life at Sweetest Heart, which is part of Mother of Divine Mercy Parish along with St Josaphat. Peggie, who serves as the operation manager and mission support director, said that Casey — who is a furry feline friend — made himself right at home at the parish from the start.
“I started petting him, and he started coming around, and we fed him, and he would lounge on the porch of our social hall,” Peggie said. “When he would hear the church bells, he would come to see everybody coming out of the church and eat donuts with everybody — everyone was really enjoying him.”
Even people who don’t usually enjoy cats love Casey, Peggie said, and they clinched his status as the parish cat by naming him after Detroit’s own most beloved saint.
Casey finds his way into every part of parish life, Peggie added.
“He likes to sit at Fr. Greg Tokarski’s desk, and he enjoys working when we have relic meetings,” Peggie said. “He gets involved in meetings with our pastor, with couples getting married here; he made his way into a meeting with a bishop and has wandered into a couple of weddings.”
When he is done for the day, Casey likes to take a nap next to a statue of St. Anne.
Casey now lives with a parishioner, and although he doesn’t live on the parish grounds anymore, he comes back several days a week.
“This is his original home, so when he gets driven here, he sees the steeples and his paws go up on the dashboard,” Peggie said.
Peggie said Casey and other animals who enter parish life remind parishioners that all are God’s creatures.
“We all deserve a place on the earth and within church grounds, and animals are another form of life that we can enjoy and take care of,” Peggie said.
Share your parish pets
If your parish has a pet, we'd love to hear from you! Please email Detroit Catholic reporter Gabriella Patti at [email protected] with the name of your parish, the pet's name and a photo, and we may share it in an upcoming feature.
