Bless All North End Animals

They’re always glad to see us, love us no matter what we do and bring joy into our lives in a way nothing else does in this busy, sometimes chaotic world.

Therefore, our pets – whether cats, dogs, guinea pigs or any other domestic animal we care for in our homes – need spiritual recognition at least one day of the year.

That’s what the North End’s Blessing of the Animals Ceremony is all about – commemorating the life of Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.

On Sunday, September 30, all North End residents are invited to bring their pets to the Prado near Unity Street where there will be readings from the Bible and prayers, followed by an opportunity for all the animals to be blessed by members of Old North’s ministry.

Members of Responsible Urbanites for Fido (R.U.F.F.) – the neighborhood dog owner’s group – will be hosting part of the ceremony and arranged to have Animal Control and a vet coming to administer rabies shots.

Saint Francis of Assisi, who was born in 1181 and died in 1226, was an Italian Catholic friar and preacher who founded the men’s Franciscan Order, the women’s Order of St. Clare and the lay Third Order of Saint Francis.

The son of a wealthy merchant in Assisi, Francis took a pilgrimage to Rome as a young adult where he begged with others at St. Peter’s. The experience within Vatican City had such an effect on him that Francis decided to live in poverty for the rest of his life.

Arranging the first Christmas manger scene in 1223, Francis became known as the patron saint of animals and the environment.

Many of the stories that surround the life of Francis tell about his love for animals including a well-known one described in the ‘Fioretti,’ – a collection of folklore recalled after his death.

This particular legend states that one day Francis was travelling with companions and the came to a place where birds filled the trees on either side of the road.

“Wait for me while I go preach to my sisters -- the birds,” Francis is supposed to have said. And not one bird flew away but, rather, all surrounded him.