Blessing of the Animals held at churches around Maine
Animals lovers gathered outside St. Pius X Church in Portland, Sacred Heart Church in Yarmouth, and in other churchyards around Maine on October 4 and 5 to have their cats, dogs, and other pets blessed.
Blessing of the Animals prayer services are a tradition around the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, which is October 4, because the saint was known for his love of nature and all God’s creatures, whom he considered his brothers and sisters.
During the service at St. Pius x, Father John Michalowski, SJ, acknowledged the responsibility that God has entrusted to us to care for his creation and asked God to reach out with his right hand and grant that the animals may always share in his bounty. He then walked around, sprinkling the pets with holy water.
Several of the pet owners in attendance say they look forward to coming to the Blessing of the Animals year after year.
“God created the heaven and earth and all these beautiful creatures for us, and we believe we’ll be with them forever,” says Mary Polito, who brings Demi, a Bichon Frishes, to be blessed every year. “We say a prayer to St. Francis every morning with this dog because we feel blessed to have her, and we figure just as we trust God to care for us, he trusts us to care for his creatures.”
“We love her so very much, and we think this is important. We like the fact that St. Francis is going to watch over and bless her,” says Jim Pizzo, Demi’s co-owner.
“I just think everyone needs a blessing. Even my little pet needs a blessing,” says Judi Grassi, the owner of a dog named Cappuccino.
While most of the pets in attendance were cats and dogs, at Sacred Heart in Yarmouth, a snake was among the animals blessed by Father Peter Kaseta, OFM Cap. Father Kaseta. spoke about St. Francis and read a prayer before sprinkling each animal with holy water. Pets ranged in age from a 10-week-old puppy to a 20-year-old cat. Fr. Paul Marquis of the Parish of the Holy Eucharist was also on hand with his own dog.
