World Animal Day was also celebrated with devotion at the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi in Corfu.
According to religious custom, on the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi, who is the patron of animals, Orthodox and Catholic believers gather at the yard of the Church of Saint Francis of Assisi in Corfu. At the end of the Divine Liturgy, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Corfu, Zante and Cefalonia and apostolic administrator of Apostolic Vicariate of Thessaloniki, Yannis Spiteris, blesses the animals. It is known that most believers feel them as a part of their family.
The ancient custom of animal blessing takes place on the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi (4 October). The Catholic Church named the Saint ”patron of animals and ecology” and his feast is established as the World Animal Day.
Source: ANA-MPA
