Gather ye animals, blessed are they.

Churches across the land will celebrate World Animal Day Sunday, October 6, with a Blessing of the Animals, an event that coincides with the feast day of Francis of Assisi. St. Mary’s-In-Tuxedo Episcopal Church will hold its annual Blessing of the Animals at 10 a.m.

Owners are asked to bring their animals on a leash, in a cage or if unable to travel, bring a photo. Animals and their owners are invited to the blessing and a reception with refreshments that follows.

St. Mary’s is located at 10 Fox Hill Road at Tuxedo Park, just off Rt. 17 and inside the entrance to Tuxedo Park.

World Animal Day began in Florence, Italy “in 1931 at a convention of ecologists in Florence as a way of highlighting the plight of endangered species.”