Clergy preside over St. Francis of Assisi’s feast day celebrations
By THEA CHARD Special to the Daily Press
CITYWIDE Pet owners and their critter compadres are in good graces this week, after three local churches staged animal blessing ceremonies over the weekend, honoring pets and praying for their well-being.
The celebrations took place on and around Oct. 4 — the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and ecology.
While not a Catholic congregation, the event theme paralleled St. Francis’s teachings for those at First United Methodist Church on the 1000 block of 11th Street.
“St. Francis was the inspiration for having the event,” said Nancy Perov, office manager for First United Methodist, of the congregation’s first annual animal blessing, held on Saturday. “Our senior pastor, Patricia Harris, has wanted to do it for a long time.
“She loves animals and I love animals, so it seemed like a big fit.”
In Mid-City, St. Anne’s Church and Shrine staged their ceremony on Thursday, the congregation’s eighth annual animal blessing.
“We have a school here, so we do it every year with them,” said Father Mike Gutierrez. “The kids love it and it teaches them about patrons.”
At St. Monica Parish, on the 700 block of California Avenue, more than 200 pet lovers turned out on Sunday afternoon for that community’s second annual St. Francis Day Blessing of Animals celebration.
Dogs, cats, hamsters, rabbits and guinea pigs filled adjacent Reed Park, as owners swapped stories about their pets, sang traditional Franciscan songs and waited in line to be blessed by Father Phillip Garcia, an ardent animal lover from the Serra Retreat House in Malibu.
“It relates to peoples’ consciousness and the goodness of God and creation,” said Garcia, glancing affectionately at a picture a black and white cat he had pinned to his robes. “It heightens peoples’ awareness of the holiness of life.”
St. Francis of Assisi believed that all living creatures should be treated with respect and appreciation, a message each of the churches hoped would be reiterated in their blessing ceremonies.
“The blessing kind of becomes unique in a transference.”
“It’s about an 800-year-old tradition,” explained Eric Gabster, a parishioner and coordinator for the event at St. Monica. Gabster recently lost his pet, inspiring him to create a book dedicated to deceased pets.
“This year, we have a pet book of memory so that people can inscribe their pet and maybe a little thought about thanksgiving for the beautiful blessing from God,” he said. “And really, that’s the tie-in with St. Francis, because he held the very radical belief at the time, that all of creation, in some fashion, reflected the goodness of God.”
Sunday’s blessing, coordinated by the St. Monica Men’s Ministry, lasted about two hours and was open to anyone in the community, regardless of religious affiliation.
“Blessings are about as universally accepted a concept among all faiths as they can be,” Gabster said. “So many faiths have some concept of blessing or honoring animals.”
Garcia likened the steady stream of animals to a “drive-through blessing.” The priest, who has been a Franciscan for 36 years, has taken part in many animal blessings over the years, blessing everything from snakes and mules, to tarantulas and “I have a thing with snakes,” he said. “I usually bless those from a distance.”
No matter the pet, Father Garcia acknowledges the great importance of loving and blessing pets as family.
“It’s a pretty generic, standard blessing, but I think the way people perceive it makes it kind of unique. Everybody hears something different.
Many pet-owners brought their pets to the blessing for a fun afternoon in the sunshine, while others were especially eager to give thanks for their companions.
“I look forward to this every year,” said Natasha Davidson, a dog-lover and West Los Angeles resident.
Davidson, who brought two dogs with her to the blessing, Eddie and Mikey, feels particularly thankful for the opportunity to honor her pets because she does a lot of rescue work and often attends to animals who are in rehabilitation and need a home.
Her black lab, Eddie, was energetic and frisky. Only a year and a half old, he had been hit by a car and left for dead this past July. His previous owners left him when they heard of the condition he was in.
“He was rescued by Best Friends Animals Society and he was going for surgeries and needed someone to foster him while he recovered,” Davidson said.
However, after Eddie had begun to recover, Davidson realized she could not part with the puppy that had now become such a great part of her life. Davidson brought Eddie — his two hind legs wrapped in bright blue splints — and his brother Mikey to the blessing to pray for a full recovery.
“I think animals are just the best because they give unconditional love,” she said. “They do some much for people and I don’t think people really know all the work that animals do.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 9, 2007. Read the original PDF.