For mass at Santhome on Oct 4, bring your pets along
Priya Menon
Chennai:
All Catholic churches have mass on Sundays. But the one that will be held on October 4 at St Thomas Basilica in Santhome here will be extra special. For, it will be attended not just by people but their companion animals, who will also be blessed in a special ceremony .
October 4, celebrated globally as World Animal Day , is the day of the Feast of St Francis of Assisi, regarded the patron saint of animals.“He was a lover of nature and so we will have a special bless ing for animals between 11am and 11:30am,“ says Rev Fr Louis Mathias, parish priest of St Thomas Basilica, adding that they have a similar ceremony on Maatu Pongal, when animals that are helpful to farmers are blessed.
St Thomas Basilica is one of the three basilicas in the world which were built over the tomb of an apostle. St Peter's in Rome and St James' in Spain are the other two. St Thomas Basilica is built over the tomb of St Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ who came to India in 52AD.
“A similar ceremony was held six years ago at St Thomas Basilica,“ says Chinny Krishna, chairman emeritus, Blue Cross of India, which is organizing the event. “We usually try and conduct the ceremony when October 4 falls on a Sunday . Incidentally , it was on October 4, 1968, that we got the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals to gazette their first set of rules on animal experimentation in India.“
According to Krishna, the day has even more significance as the present Pope, when ordained, changed his name to Francis in honour of St Francis of Assisi. “Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, he took his papal title after the patron saint of animals,“ he says.
A few churches and temples across the city are planning to conduct similar ceremonies. Foundation. “Animals are a part of our culture and tradition.We worship Ganesha and Hanuman, and nearly every god has an animal as the vahana (vehicle),“ says Nanditha Krishna, director of the foundation.
Catherine Fatima Yourey , 61, who along with her two friends, care for seven-year-old Whitey , a stray mongrel in their area, will make the trip from Perambur to Santhome on October 4.“It is a beautiful idea to have a ceremony to bless the animal companions in your life,“ she says.
