Poncho The Praying Parrot Doesn’t Swear, He Praises God With ‘Hail Mary’ [Video]

Some families teach their parrots to swear, but this family taught their parrot how to pray. Poncho the Parrot was taught by his family to pray the “Hail Mary,” and the video is becoming a viral sensation.

In a related report by The Inquisitr, public prayer became a controversy when a high school superintendent told a student not to pray before lunch. In a separate event, a demand by The Freedom From Religion Foundation was sent to a middle school for a picture to be removed because it encourages children to pray.

Religious families will often teach their children to pray, but it is unusual for the family pet to be seen as part of the prayer.

“Let’s pray, Poncho!” Then begins the parrot’s prayer ritual. The parrot climbs up to his stage before he will begin to say the “Hail Mary.” Watch as he works his way through a set of the rosary.

The “Hail Mary,” also commonly called the Ave Maria or Angelic Salutation, is a traditional Catholic prayer that is asking for the intercession of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus.

Besides being a bird of prayer, Poncho was also taught by his family to sing “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”

The original YouTube video of praying Poncho was posted in 2012, but the pious parrot has only just begun to be shared widely online, with the video acquiring tens of thousands of views in the past week.

What do you think of this of praying bird friend Poncho? What part does prayer play in your family?