St. Francis Blessing of Animals

St.  Francis is one of the most prominent and beloved of all the saints. He was an exceptional man who had a astounding life. Born rich, he, fought in the Crusades,  was imprisoned for a year , had mystical visions, and was on the forefront of helping the poor and the sick . He is the Patron Saint of Animals and the Patron Saint of Ecology ( the Environment).

Saint Francis was born in Assisi, Italy in 1181 to a family of affluent cloth merchants. In 1204 he suffered a serious illness and it was during this period that his conversion to a more spiritual life began to develop. He had a number of mystical visions and began helping the poor and the sick.  Francis attracted a small-scale band of followers and  he founded the Franciscan Order in 1209.

In many ways Saint Francis was ahead of his time, perhaps a thousand years ahead! He comprehended  the inter-connectiveness of all life on Earth, that each creature and plant and human is connected and is of value .  Now known as the Web of Life, this deep idea grew out of St. Francis’s love of God .  Because God deserves to be respected and honored, he belived  that we should love and respect all that He created. He saw God in all of creation.

Saint Francis had a particular love for animals and nature . It is believed that he could speak to animals and he had several noted encounters with them. One happened with a wolf in the town of Gubbio. The wolf was terrifying the town and killing sheep and other creatures . The townspeople asked St. Francis to help them . He tracked the wolf and  found him in the hills outside the town. He demanded it to stop killing and not to hurt anyone. The wolf  listened and lay down at Francis’s feet.  The people were amazed to see St. Francis return to Gubbio with the wolf at his side and he then fed the animal . He then promised the people of Gubbio that  the wolf would cause them no more harm if they continued to feed it .  It ws due to hunger that the wolf was killing . The wolf and the townspeople became friends. By taming the wolf of Gubbio , St. Francis taught the people not to be afraid and to love and respect the wolf.

 On another occasion  St. Francis and his followers were traveling when the trees surrounding them were abruptly filled with birds. St. Francis took the opportunity to actually preach to the birds. They stayed and listened, not one flew away .

St. Francis’s love of animals is reflected and seen today in the Animal Blessings that are held throughout much of the world. Though Animal Blessings pre-date St. Francis, most modern day Animal Blessing ceremonies are affiliated with Francis and are usually held on or around his feast day in early October.

One of the oldest blessing of the animals celebrations is the Olvera Street Blessing in Los Angeles . This actually takes place on the original site of Los Angeles and dates back to about 1781. 

The largest and certainly one of the most dramatic animal blessings takes place at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City . Held each year on the first Sunday of October, it   draws  thousands of  people and their dogs, cats and various pets from across the United States and Canada . The highlight of this ceremony is the amazing  Procession of Animals which often includes elephants, camels, llamas, snakes, horses, farm animals and turtles among many others.

The Cathedral of St. John the Divine began this event in 1985, on the Feast of Saint Francis, to attract attention to the plight of the Earth’s environment and to honor  the diversity of life on our Earth .

The theology of Saint Francis has great  application to our time . Francis  recognised that we are all interdependent and equally responsible for all life on this planet . He spoke out against the destruction of the planet.  Not only the Church, but also the scientific community chose Saint Francis as the Patron Saint of Animals and the Environment  .  Because of people like Saint Francis,  we will find alternative ways to live in the 21st century.