St Edmundsbury Cathedral in Bury St Edmunds welcomes furry friends for pet service

A cathedral in Bury St Edmunds welcomed furry friends for a special service over the weekend.

St Edmundsbury Cathedral opened its doors on Sunday to residents and their pets as a way to reflect on the impact animals have on people’s lives.

From 2pm, people were able to bring along their well-behaved pets, or a photograph if it wasn’t possible, for a blessing.

There was also opportunity to remember pets that had died.

Catherine Rayson, marketing and communications manager at the cathedral, said: “We’re always looking at new services and events and something like the pet service is a good way to welcome new people to the cathedral.

“We are a dog friendly cathedral, which we’ve been promoting recently. A lot of people didn’t realise that we allow dogs. We wanted to take it a step further by inviting all types of pets into the cathedral.”

About 100 people attended the service and all the animals were dogs.

It is hoped the service will become an annual event.