VIDEO - Vatican Holds Blessing of Animals for Feast of St. Anthony with Traditional Farmer's Day Celebration

 

On the feast day of Saint Anthony the Great, patron saint of animals, it is customary for animals to be blessed. Cardinal Mauro Gambetti celebrated the traditional Farmer's Day in the Vatican. The initiative has been promoted for 16 years by the Italian Breeders Association (Aia) and by Coldiretti
SEE ALSO: Special Blessings for Pets, Farm Animals and All Domestic Animals https://www.catholicnewsworld.com/2024/01/special-blessings-for-pets-farm-animals.html
The cardinal archpriest Mauro Gambetti, vicar general for Vatican City and president of the Fabbrica di San Pietro, pronounced it at the beginning of the mass on the occasion of the memory of Saint' Antony Abbot, celebrated  in the Basilica of San Peter.

Organized by the Italian Breeders’ Association (AIA) and Coldiretti, Italy’s largest farmers’ association, the annual event began, with a Mass attended by almost 600 people in the basilica. Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, Archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica, then went outside to offer the traditional blessing.

In Milan, it is a tradition for the bishop to visit local farms, on this day, and bless the livestock.  See: https://www.chiesadimilano.it/news/chiesa-diocesi/delpini-visita-aziende-agricole-2725750.html

The Blessing of the Animals

During the offertory, farm products such as eggs and cheeses were brought to the altar. At the end of the celebration, there was a parade of horses and riders along Via della Conciliazione and then the Cardinal imparted his blessing to the farmers and animals gathered in Piazza Pio XII, in front of the Basilica: hens, geese , rabbits and specimens typical of the Italian territory such as cows, from Friesian to Chianina; sheep, from Sardinian to sopravvissana; goats, from girgentana to monticellana; horses and donkeys.

Source: Vatican News