The Surreal Ritual of Animal Blessings in St John's Cathedral, NYC
The owls are not what they seem.
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If you bless an animal, does that mean it has a soul? And if it has a soul, does that mean you shouldn't eat it?
These were the questions going through my mind as I photographed the 34th annual blessing of the animals in New York’s grandiose Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Even most native New Yorkers are unaware that every October, animals big and small are brought to the Upper West Side to be blessed in honor of Saint Francis, their proclaimed patron saint. That year, the Procession of the Animals consisted of, among other creatures, a spider, a rat, a hawk, a cow, a horse, a couple of owls, and a camel. A tortoise had to be wheeled in on a cart in order to avoid delaying the ceremony with its unhurried pace. Afterwards, the priests gathered in the garden to bless pets brought by the attendees — mostly dogs, some cats and a parrot. All in all, it was a very strange afternoon.