St. Francis of Assisi is considered the patron saint of animals, and his feast day is October 4. We typically celebrate St. Francis Day on the Wednesday closest to October 4 with a Blessing of the Animals in our Memorial Garden. Parishioners and friends are invited to bring their animals to St. Anne’s for a special blessing. We can’t guarantee that it will make them any more obedient or less prone to chew your favorite slippers, but we do think it’s worthwhile to return thanks to God for the wonderful diversity of his creation and the companionship of these animals in our lives.
As we often have a variety of animals at this service–dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, hamsters, roosters, snakes, and more!–please be sure your pets are appropriately leashed, crated, or otherwise contained.
