Megan Morr
Bring your cat or dog – or almost any other pet – to Duke Chapel’s annual Blessing of the Animals service this Sunday at 3:30pm.
The Duke Chapel ministers will bless any well-behaved pet (in the past, they’ve blessed horses, iguanas, snakes, ferrets, hedgehogs, calves, goats, sheep, goldfish and grasshoppers, as well as cats and dogs) following the 30-minute service featuring performances by the Durham Children's Choir, scripture readings and a reflection by Father Michael Martin, director of the Duke Catholic Center and a Franciscan friar.
The service takes place in honor of St. Francis, the 13th century Italian Catholic friar who lived a life of voluntary poverty and is most notably known for his love of animals.
Limited parking is available in front of the chapel for those with large animals; trailers are permitted in convenient spaces. Other parking is available in the Bryan Center surface lot, the Bryan Center parking deck and behind the Biological Sciences Building lot off Science Drive. Water and trash cans will be provided for the animals.
