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Blessed art thou: Pets go to church for Saint Francis Day
To commemorate the life of Saint Francis, churches celebrate the Feats of St Francis on Oct. 4 each year. The same date was also named World Animal Day, a day dedicated to standing up for animal rights and welfare.
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In commemoration of Saint Francis Day, a day to honor the patron saint of animals, St Gabriel Catholic Church in East Jakarta holds an animal blessings ceremony on Sunday. (JP/Budi Sutrisno)
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n uncommon and vibrant sight elevated Sunday’s atmosphere at Saint Gabriel Catholic Church in East Jakarta with dozens of animals adorned in lovely, colorful clothing and ribbons gathering around, well behaved yet excited to see their friends of various kinds.
Later in the morning, after two weekly masses, worshippers walked with their pets to line up at the entrance hall of the Pulo Gebang parish. A green-robed priest, accompanied by several acolytes, sprinkled holy water on the animals.
This animal-blessing ceremony was a late commemoration of St Francis Day, celebrated each year on Oct. 4. St Francis of Assisi, Italy, was the founder of the Franciscan order, and is known as the patron saint of animals.
After the ceremony, Bombi, a big 5-year-old male golden retriever with a chain around his neck played and jumped around with his new human friends. Meanwhile, the sparkling eyes of his housemates, Boci and Boli, a pair of 1.5-year-old cats, peered out from their cage.
Their guardian, Bernadus Bambang Nur Widiatno, said he and his wife enjoyed having pets, so after buying the cheerful Bombi, they rescued the shy black-furred Boci and brown Boli from the streets.
“We decided to bring them here because they are also creatures of God that need to be loved and feel a sense of protection. Why don’t we think to give blessings to living creatures, the same as we do for inanimate things we like, like statues and cars?” said the 39-year-old.
Meanwhile, Mochi, a 1-year-old light brown toy poodle appeared to be enjoying the comfort of being held in his caregiver’s secure hands. He was well prepared, wearing his go-to black-and-white striped socks and had a pleasing time scanning his eyes across his new friends one by one.
