AmericanCatholic.org posts resources about St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals. The site also keeps a nationwide list of pet/animal blessing ceremonies, many of which occur near his feast day, Oct. 4.

Feb. 25, 2009, The New York Times article about the Supreme Court ruling in Pleasant Grove City v. Summum that a Utah city park did not need to put up a monument to a small Utah-based religion (Summum) just because it had a monument to the Ten Commandments.

Oyez page for the 2009 Supreme Court Case Pleasant Grove City v. Summum.

Summum is a religion and philosophy founded by Claude Nowell in 1975. Contact through the website.

Read a Sept. 20, 2011, article from Christianity Today about a Lutheran pastor’s claims that he is in possession of a “miracle cure” capable of healing any disease.

Read a May 25, 2013, article from The Huffington Post about an Ohio family who believes they saw a Virgin Mary apparition.

Read a July 5, 2013, article from the Associated Press about the clearing of two former popes to become saints. Pope John Paul II was canonized as a result of a medical miracle in Costa Rica.

Read an Oct. 19, 2012, article from the Catholic News Service about a woman who believes a miracle cured her disease.

An ABCNews/Beliefnet poll conducted in 2001 found that 43 percent of people believe that pets go to heaven. Slightly fewer – 41 percent – said all animals, not just pets, go to heaven.