Kuching Parish Blesses Pets, Including Rare African Tortoises, on St. Francis Feast

Dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, fish and reptiles, including two African Sulcata tortoises, gathered at St. Anne’s Church in the Archdiocese of Kuching on October 4 as the parish marked the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi with its annual blessing of animals.

Kuching is the capital of Sarawak, one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. The parish’s annual blessing brought together pet owners and their animals for a celebration that linked Catholic faith with care for creation.

The blessing was held at 2 p.m. after the parish’s Sunday morning Masses. Parishioners brought their pets to the church grounds, where they were blessed by Franciscan friars Fr. Don Romero Ramerez and Fr. Joseph Lee.

The parish is administered by Franciscan friars, whose spiritual tradition is closely associated with St. Francis of Assisi and his reverence for creation.

Among those who brought their pets were Keegan Rompet, his wife Liana Delailah and their 10-year-old daughter Kathleen Keegan. Kathleen told Radio Veritas Asia that she was excited to have her pet poodle, Derdle, blessed for the first time at the parish event.

The gathering also featured an unusual pair of visitors when sisters Saint Hermione Patrick and Anne Patrick arrived carrying two African Sulcata tortoises.

The large reptiles, native to Africa, attracted the attention of parishioners as they gathered around to see them. Fr. Ramerez also blessed the tortoises.

Saint Hermione said she acquired the tortoises from a local pet shop when they were hatchlings. The male, Heng Heng, was seven years old, while the female, Chaisen, was six.

“Heng Heng’s name has a story of its own. I named him Heng Heng after the Hokkien expression associated with blessings, good fortune and prosperity, because I came into some unexpected good fortune after I purchased the reptiles,” she said.

The annual blessing of animals is held in many Catholic and other Christian communities around the world on or around Oct. 4, the feast day of St. Francis, who is widely associated with love for animals and creation.

The observance also coincides with World Animal Day, an international observance that promotes animal welfare and greater respect for animals.

For Catholic pet owners, the blessing is an opportunity to give thanks for animals that have become part of their households while reflecting on the responsibility of caring for them.

The tradition is closely linked to St. Francis’ understanding of creation as pointing to its Creator. His legacy has also influenced the Catholic Church’s contemporary teaching on environmental responsibility.

Pope Francis took the saint’s name and dedicated his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’ to care for “our common home,” calling attention to the relationship between human beings, other creatures and the environment.

At St. Anne’s, the annual blessing brought that tradition into a parish setting, reminding Catholics that care for creation also includes compassion for animals and responsible stewardship of the natural world.