New York Monday # 65: St. John the Divine

Hi folks:

Here are a few photos of The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, the world's largest Gothic-style church. It is also affectionately known as St. John the Unfinished because construction on the cathedral, which started in the 1800s, still continues to this day. Services and events are held there.

My favorite event in the cathedral is The Blessing of the Animals (or the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.). Each year, a celebration of the life of St. Francis is held and people and their animals are invited to come. A patron of animals, this feast celebrates St. Francis's love for all animals and God's creatures. It also celebrates God's love for all creatures. Every October, about 4000-5000 people bring their pets into the cathedral for blessing.

A few years ago, my sister and I decided to take our dogs to participate in the event. Early, one Sunday morning , we went to the cathedral and stood on a long line that snaked around the block. We stood on line for about an hour for tickets to enter. Luckily we were in the front of the line.

While we waited a little girl (about seven), her brother (about ten) and their mother stood in front of us. The girl brought her gold fish (in a bowl, of course) and her brother brought his lizard (in a shoebox). Both were excited about the event. All around us, people came with various animals -- cats and dogs (of course), birds, chickens, snakes....

Inside, everyone sat in the pews with their pets. I was really surprised that my dogs were very well behaved, since they normally bark at other dogs. Actually, everyone's pet was well behaved. There were no barking, fighting, no accidents.

A service was held and afterwards a special group of animals marched down the aisle, the length of two football fields, to begin the blessing ceremony -- an elephant, monkey, donkey, camel, horse, llama, cow... It really is a sight to behold, to see the animals strolling into the cathedral.

Later, a fair with activities for everyone was held. Vegetarian food and handicrafts were sold. For the children, there was face painting, puppeteers, a petting zoo was held. Everyone got to enjoy a concert and theatrical performances. Lots of fun.

Have a great week!

New York greetings,
Paz