Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Manhattan menagerie

{St. John the Divine, Morningside Heights, NY}
Every autumn, this Manhattan cathedral transforms for a day into an extraordinary menagerie of cute creatures.

The Blessing of the Animals (aw), inspired by animal-lover St. Francis, honors harmony between humans and nature. People from all walks of life bring their pets, or just come to enjoy.

{Despite a full house, there's amazingly little noise beyond tail thumping - as if the animals know it's their special day!}
It's an autumn ritual that just makes Manhattan life sweeter.

(Images from Michael Williams via Sacred Destinations, daylife and the gothamist (#3-4)).

29 comments:

Signe said...

Aaw, this looks like so much fun :)
Look at that little bunny smelling the sheep, so cute!!

Joyti said...

That looks like such a fun event...

Anonymous said...

What a cute idea, I like that!

little luxury list said...

My city! I had no idea they did that, how cool!

RD said...

Oh this is a great post! I've never seen this in person (have you?) I must some year! xo bb

Lee Oliveira said...

Didn't know they do that in NYC.. looks very interesting. I love animals
LOx

Stacey said...

I would so love to experience this! How awesome! XX

Tiffany Kadani said...

How sweet! I never knew this existed! Great photos.

jeanette from everton terrace said...

How are all these animals living in NYC? A camel? Where would someone keep a camel? I would love to attend the animal blessing mass in that lovely church. It is indeed quite intersting they stay so quiet.

Meghan said...

what a great idea! love the photos!

Justine said...

was that yesterday? my husband left new york this morning, I could have made him go and take pictures! what a great sight it must be.

Krysten @ Why Girls Are Weird said...

Oh my goodness, looks like fun!

Annie said...

Awww wow, this is so cool.. it must be such a great experience to be in the midst of! Love these pics.. a camel?! haha

Connie @ SogniESorrisi said...

They do this at my church, too. But it's mostly just cats and dogs lol

Lady Grey said...

what a fun & quirky little festival... I love it!!

Diana Mieczan said...

That is truly incredible and looks like so much fun:) Kisses,sweetie

Ps: Thank you so much for taking part in my Giveaway:)

Isabel said...

wow, so cool!

Lisa Gordon said...

It is an amazing event, and your photographs capture it beautifully!

Amber said...

Oh wow what a cool event, I would love to be able to attend that

Melissa Blake said...

How cute!! :)

THE ALTERNATIVE WIFE said...

So sweet! I love St. John's the Divine but have never been to the Blessing of the Animals. Too cute :) xoxo

Style, She Wrote said...

Your image of St. John the Divine is divine! Amazing work Jude.

K and S said...

love the shot of the cathedral!

Regan said...

I love that last pic!

stylenuggets said...

Nice to see a side of Manhattan we don't see much of!

Collette Osuna said...

How cool..Ive never heard of this:)

Anonymous said...

I'm curious to know what the photographer's settings were in the first two pics. Night shots are not easy for me.

Wonderful crisp pics.

Lucy said...

What a cool idea. I love autumn and rituals and animals and St. Francis.

Oh, My Darling said...

Awww. That last picture is so heartwarming.

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