Pampered Dog Blog

St. Francis of Assisi is one of the most famous and beloved of all the saints. He was an exceptional person who lived an astounding life. Born rich, he, fought in the Crusades, jailed for a year, had mystical visions, and was on the vanguard of helping the sick and the poor . 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 wealthy fabric merchants. In 1204 he suffered a severe illness and it was during this period that his conversion to a more spiritual life began to evolve. 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 recognised   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 . He believed that God deserved to be honoured and respected and that we should love and respect all that He created. He saw God in all of creation.

Saint Francis had a specific love for  nature and the animal kingdom . It is said that he could talk to animals and he had several noted encounters with them. One was with a wolf in the town of Gubbio. The wolf was terrifying the town and killing sheep and other animals . The townspeople asked St. Francis for help . Francis tracked the wolf and  found him in the hills outside the town. He commanded it to stop killing and not to hurt anyone. The wolf  listened and lay down at Francis’s feet. To the amazement of the people, St. Francis returned to Gubbio with the wolf at his side and he then fed the wolf . He then promised the people of Gubbio that if they would continue to feed the wolf it would no longer cause any harm . The wolf had been killing because he was hungry . The  townspeople and the wolf 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  Saint Francis and his followers were walking along a country road  when the trees surrounding them were abruptly filled with birds. St. Francis took the opportunity to actually preach to the birds.  Not one bird flew away, they all stayed and listened .

 The love St. Francis had for animals is reflected and carried out today in the Animal Blessings that are held around much of the world. Though Animal Blessings pre-date St. Francis, most modern day Animal Blessing festivities   are associated with Francis and are ordinarily 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 outstanding animal blessings takes place at  New York’s Cathedral of St. John the Divine  . Held each year on the first Sunday of October, it   attracts  thousands of  people and their dogs, cats and various pets, many whom come from across North America . The highlight of this festivity 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 diverseness of life on our planet .

The theology of Saint Francis has enormous  application to our time . He  recognised that we are all interdependent and jointly accountable for all life on this planet . He spoke out against the destruction of the planet. Because of this he was chosen as the Patron Saint of Animals and the Environment (Ecology), not just by the Church, but by the scientific community as well . It is through people like Saint Francis that we will find alternative ways to live in the 21st century.