Blessing of the Animals – October 3rd at 2:00pm

There will be a "Blessing of the Animals" service on October 3rd at 2:00 p.m. at the parish. Everyone and their pets are welcome to attend! Please remember that all pets should be either on a leash or in a carrier.

The custom of honoring and blessing animals originated in the Catholic Church to help remember and honor Saint Francis of Assisi on his feast day of October 4th. Saint Francis (Giovanni Francesco Bernadone, 1181 - 1226), was a Catholic deacon and the founder of the Order of Friars Minor, more commonly known as the Franciscans. Thought of most often as the patron saint of animals, he is also the patron saint of the environment and of Italy. Francis wrote a Canticle of the Creatures, an ode to God’s living things. "All praise to you, Oh Lord, for all these brother and sister creatures."