Erin FoxSt Francis is known as the patron saint of animals.
The feast of Saint Francis of Assisi is celebrated on October 4. He was influential in spreading the word of God and he also preached to animals. For this reason, he is known as the patron saint of animals.
There are a few stories surrounding St Francis and animals, and one involved him preaching to a flock of birds. One day, when he was traveling with companions, he encountered a flock of birds of all varieties. He approached the birds and asked would they listen to the word of God. He preached that they should praise their Creator and always love him, for he gave them wings to fly and everything else they needed. The birds rejoiced and praised God in their birdlike manners of flapping their wings and singing. From this moment on, St Francis vowed to preach to all birds and animals to praise their Creator.
Animals were known to be drawn to St Francis and this was because they were transfixed by his preachings. One day, he freed a rabbit from a trap and allowed it to make its way back into the wild. Instead, the rabbit hopped up onto Francisí lap to be close to him.
Wolf
The most famous story of St Francis involving animals is when he tamed a ravenous wolf that was terrorising a village. The villagers took to hunt down the wolf and kill it after the wolf had killed and eaten people as well as animals. St Francis intervened and made the sign of the cross toward the wolf and this caused it to lie down at Francisí feet. Francis then ordered the wolf never to harm the villagers again and granted him forgiveness for his crimes. From this day on, the wolf became a friend and pet to the villagers who made sure he had plenty of food so he would never go hungry. They lived in peace until the wolf died years later. The wolfís conversion was symbolic of the wonders of God and the virtues of St Francis.
To honour his feast day, you can draw a picture of St Francis and surround it with a cut-out paper chain of birds or any other animal from one of his stories. Some people get their pets blessed on his feast day. Perhaps this is something you could do.