Blessing of animals on the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi in New York and other communities

The blessing of the animals at the Episcopal Church of Saint John in New York on 4 October, the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi, who is regarded as the patron saint of animals and nature. Francis is associated with the tale of his sermon to the birds and with the wolf of Gubbio, which is why on this day many Christian congregations keep the tradition of blessing animals.

It is a Catholic tradition, but not an exclusively Catholic one: the blessing of the animals on 4 October is also held in Anglican, Episcopal, some Lutheran and other Christian communities. The priest reads a prayer, thanks God for creation and asks a blessing for the animals and for the people who care for them.

Most often people come to the ceremony with household pets: dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, horses. The animals are not necessarily brought into the church. In many parishes the ceremony takes place in front of the church, in the courtyard or on the lawn. This makes it possible to gather many people and animals and not to subject the pets to needless stress. In some congregations, by contrast, animals are admitted inside and attend a special service together with their owners.

Wild animals, too, accord with the meaning of the feast: the Franciscan tradition stresses the unity of all living things.

At the heart of the tradition is not the "consecration" of pets, but gratitude for life and a reminder of man's responsibility for other living creatures.

In Italy a similar tradition exists on the feast of Saint Anthony in January.