February 22, 2008

Blessed Beasts

By NINA C. AYOUB

Once a year inside the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, barks, meows, clucks, hisses, and other sounds join human voices raised unto God.

The event, held the first Sunday in October at the New York church, honors St. Francis of Assisi and is arguably the best-known "blessing of the animals" in America. Such rituals are increasingly common, says Laura Hobgood-Oster, a religion scholar at Southwestern University. On a parallel note, animals and religion is a growing subject for