Oct 04 2007
Blessing of the Animals
Children, parents, grandparents, teachers and animals attended the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi outside St. Thomas More Parish yesterday afternoon. Father Steven Foppiano has been holding this ceremony annually for five years. This year he brought his blue-eyed dog Tommie, named after St. Thomas More.
St. Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of animals and the environment. From 1181 to 1226 he preached to the animals and about nature. This prayer service and blessing of the animals is a good way for children to connect to what’s important and share faith with their animals, Foppiano said.
The children who attended the service were excited to bring their animals. Though there were mostly dogs, some children brought rats, cats, turtles, hamsters and even a snake. Prior to the service the children got the opportunity to talk and share their animals.
“Its fun, the kids bring hamsters. We have one snake, I’m not a fan of snakes, but I’ll bless them too,” Fappiano said.
The church has been lucky so far, all the animals have been trained, and there haven’t been any problems. To read more of this article click on www.paradisepost.com
