Blessing of pets

The feast of St Francis of Assisi was celebrated at the Franciscan church in Mgarr earlier this month.

After a morning Mass, there was a short procession with the statue to the convent grounds where parents and children attended a ceremony for the blessing of animals. Traditional pets like cats, dogs, birds and tortoises, even chameleons, and horses and donkeys were blessed by Fr Albert Micallef, OFM. The children were presented with a memento. Provincial Fr Paul Galea, guardian Fr Raymond Zammit, Fr Pierre Farrugia and Fr Lorrie Zerafa, who organised the feast, attended the ceremony.

A similar blessing was held at St Francis School in Victoria, run by the Franciscan Sisters of the Sacred Heart. The ceremony was led by the spiritual director, Canon Joseph Gauci, who urged the children to follow St Francis' example and love animals. A talk by a vet, Dr Frank Galea, followed.