Around the Diocese, animals spring into fall with an October blessing
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
As the Oct. 4 Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi approached, nearly 50 parishes around the Diocese recalled his deep love of God’s creation by welcoming scores of creatures to their parking lots and gardens for annual pet blessing ceremonies. It has become a religious mainstay of early fall for Catholics and a growing number of Protestant denominations.
According to tradition, Francis preached sermons to animals and praised all beasts as brothers and sisters under God during his lifetime. Religious scholars have written that the saint’s deep love of furred, finned and feathered creatures reflected his own tender concern for the dignity of all creation.
Photo Gallery: Blessing of the Animals in St. John Parish, Lakehurst
Photo Gallery: Blessing of the Pets from Around the Diocese
Recognizing this attribute, in 1979 as pope, St. John Paul II paid tribute to Francis’ love for Creation by declaring him the patron saint of ecologists. He urged Catholics to follow the saint’s example by showing their “deep respect for the dignity of the human person, which extends also to the rest of Creation, which is called to join man in praising God.”
In recent years, the simple blessing bestowed by priests and deacons on family pets has blossomed to include a focus on animals in shelters and in foster care. Faithful often come toting not only Fido or Cleo but also food, toys and blankets for the local ASPCA or Humane Society.
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As the Oct. 4 Memorial of St. Francis of Assisi approached, nearly 50 parishes around the Diocese recalled his deep love of God’s creation by welcoming scores of creatures to their parking lots and gardens for annual pet blessing ceremonies. It has become a religious mainstay of early fall for Catholics and a growing number of Protestant denominations.
According to tradition, Francis preached sermons to animals and praised all beasts as brothers and sisters under God during his lifetime. Religious scholars have written that the saint’s deep love of furred, finned and feathered creatures reflected his own tender concern for the dignity of all creation.
Photo Gallery: Blessing of the Animals in St. John Parish, Lakehurst
Photo Gallery: Blessing of the Pets from Around the Diocese
Recognizing this attribute, in 1979 as pope, St. John Paul II paid tribute to Francis’ love for Creation by declaring him the patron saint of ecologists. He urged Catholics to follow the saint’s example by showing their “deep respect for the dignity of the human person, which extends also to the rest of Creation, which is called to join man in praising God.”
In recent years, the simple blessing bestowed by priests and deacons on family pets has blossomed to include a focus on animals in shelters and in foster care. Faithful often come toting not only Fido or Cleo but also food, toys and blankets for the local ASPCA or Humane Society.
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