Festival of the Bells

BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS CAPS FESTIVALS OF THE BELLS AT SAN DIEGO MISSION

 

July 15, 2012 (San Diego) – The 40th annual Festival of the Bells continues today, with the annual Blessing of the Animals at 3 p.m.

The Festival celebrates the anniversary on which Mission San Diego de Alcala, the first of San Diego’s 21  missions, was founded by Father Junipero Serra in 1769.   


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SPECIAL MISSION: BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS

 

 

By Miriam Raftery

July 19, 2010 (San Diego) – A procession of around 100 visitors accompanied by their pets lined up yesterday morning outside the San Diego Mission de Alcala. The faithful and the curious turned out for the Blessing of Animals, a tradition started by St. Francis of Assisi in the 1200s.

 

The custom was practiced in San Diego by Father Junipero Serra, founder of the Mission, and has continued ever since--accompanied by barks, mariachi music, and an occasional "oink."
 


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