Liturgical Seasons Ordinary Time

Crawfish and lizards and mice, oh my! Photos from the Blessing of the Animals

It’s one of the joys of church life – the Blessing of the Animals! Readers sent in their favorite images from this annual ritual, including, yes, crawfish and lizards and a mouse. Also some very cute dogs.

image of a man blessing a dog — The Rt. Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton, senior pastor at Chautauqua Institution, blesses a dog while another waits its turn at the Blessing of the Animals at Chautauqua Institution’s Miller Park in Chautauqua, New York, in July 2023.
Photo by HG Biggs/The Chautauquan Daily

Tuesday, October 3, 2023

Blessed are you, Lord God, maker of all living creatures. You called forth fish in the sea, birds in the air and animals on the land. You inspired St. Francis to call all of them his brothers and sisters. We ask you to bless this pet. By the power of your love, enable it to live according to your plan. May we always praise you for all your beauty in creation. Blessed are you, Lord our God, in all your creatures! Amen.

— Franciscan blessing

Many churches hold their event around Oct. 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.

Image of a man and a chicken — Myers Park United Methodist Church, Charlotte, North Carolina Photo courtesy of James Howell

Two girls with a dog — Christ Church (Episcopal), Raleigh, North Carolina Photo by Alexa Blazevich

Image of a man holding a crawdad — First Presbyterian Church, Hastings, Nebraska Photo courtesy of members of First Presbyterian Church

Two daschunds in hats — First United Methodist Church, Belmont, North Carolina Photo by Margie Ligon

A girl holding a bunny — St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Cary, North Carolina Photo by Dan Loughlin

Image of woman blessing a horse — Plank Chapel UMC of Bobbitt Road, Kittrell, North Carolina Photo by Phyllis Smith Castelli

Image of a dog in a sidecar — St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Cary, North Carolina Photo by Dan Loughlin

All things bright and beautiful,
all creatures great and small,
all things wise and wonderful:
the Lord God made them all.

— “All Things Bright and Beautiful”

Image of a cat being blessed — Celebration Lutheran Church, Cardon, Ohio Photo courtesy of Marilyn Matevia

Image of a dog and a girl — Centering Space, Lakewood, Ohio Photo courtesy of Betsy Nero

Image of a lizard — Christ Church (Episcopal), Raleigh, North Carolina Photo by Alexa Blazevich

Image of a white mouse — St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Cary, North Carolina Photo by Dan Loughlin

Image of a group of people standing around dogs — Overlake Park Presbyterian Church, Bellevue, Washington Photo courtesy of Laughton MacAulay Friedman

Image of a group of horses in a church courtyard — Saint Mark's Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Photo by Jay Blossom

Image of a group of kids around a trash can — First United Methodist Church of Belmont, North Carolina Photo by Margie Ligon

Image of a priest blessing a dog — St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Renton, Washington Photo by Maya Feregrino

And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.” And it was so. God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind and the cattle of every kind and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good.

— Genesis 1:24-25 NRSVue