What is an animal blessing?
Christian “animal blessings” are church services in which the parishioners bring their pets to be given a blessing by the pastor or priest, usually in honor of the Feast Day of Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and the environment. The liturgies given during these services reference various Bible passages that mention the importance of animals, including Genesis 7:2-3, in which some animals are saved from the flood; Jonah 2:1-10, in which a giant fish saves Jonah; and 1 Kings 17:4-7, in which God sends ravens to bring bread to Elijah. Animal blessings represent an animal-friendly interpretation of the Bible, demonstrating the vast diversity of perspectives regarding the Bible’s stance on animals.
In this video from America – The Jesuit Review, Father Gil Martinez, the pastor at St. Paul the Apostle in New York City, explains that some churches choose to bless animals on the Feast Day of Saint Francis because of Francis himself: “He took seriously that God created us all and to take that seriously means that everything that’s on this earth belongs to God and to trust that and to believe that, to lift that up and celebrate that.”
