How to Participate in the Blessing of the Animals in NYC

Twice a year, the 18-foot-tall bronze doors of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City swing wide. The 106-year-old Episcopalian cathedral, which is also the seat of the Archdiocese of New York, offers daily religious services and hosts artists-in-residence as well as concerts, dances and readings year-round. But the magisterial main doors, three tons each, are only thrown open on Easter Sunday and for St. John the Divine’s most popular event, the Blessing of the Animals, on the feast day of St. Francis (the Sunday closest to October 4).  
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Every year, in celebration of St. Francis Day, Morningside Heights' Episcopal Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine opens its ornate doors to a parade of...

Each year the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on Amsterdam Ave. holds its Blessing of the Animals, where animals lovers and owners come out to get a look at the creatures.