This is a beautiful wooden carving of St. Francis of Assisi -- the patron Saint of animals. Many stories that surround the life of St. Francis deal with his love of animals. His feast day is observed on October 4th and many Catholic Churches here perform the "Blessing of the Animals" service that day, where all animals and their people are invited to attend.
Legend has it that, on his deathbed St. Francis thanked his donkey for carrying him and helping him through life.....and his donkey wept.
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52 comments:
WOW!! What beautiful pictures. This carving really touched me.
I'm with you Sophie...I want to look up to St. Francis of Assisi too & thank him for being our patron saint:)
What a great carving! Looks likr Sophie thinks so too. If you look on my blog under the label "saints" you'll find the story of St. Francis and the wolf.
Beautiful carvings!!
Great shots, nice how Sophie is sitting so good for the patron saint.
Our animal shelter has a Blessing of the Animals each year. Everything from dogs and cats to tiny mice carried by little children in a box attend. A very moving time for people who truly love their companions.
Beautiful carving, amazing talent.
Outstanding submission for this week! Wonderful post, Andrea.
It's amazing how Sophie poses for your pictures in just the right way. What a smart girl she is. These pictures are truly beautiful.
Such stunning detail in those carvings! Your sweet dog looks like she's honoring the Patron Saint, too.
Lisa
New Mexico
Impressive sculptures. That reminds me, I've always thought Assissi would make a great name for a pet.
That is a fabulous sculpture. Is it just sitting out somewhere???
Mine is up over at the photo blog.
fantastic information and an incredible carving, thanks for sharing
Ah yes, St. Francis. I have seen many statues representing him with animals, and I really like this carving!
Francis sounds like my kinda guy. Love that photo of Sophie looking up at the carving.
Blessings on you both!
What a great pic!!!! Spphie looking up like she knows who St. Francis is..:-0
WOw, these are such beautiful works of art!
Some really great detail on those photos!!
You make me want to visit Canada and see some of these things for myself.
I like your take on this assignment. Great post pictures. I especially like the one of Sophie looking up.
Beautiful pictures and carving! Thanks for sharing!
isn't that an interesting carving?
What a wonderful carving. I'd love to have it in my garden!
Now that is art! I love the way Sofie is looking at him.
I've often heard of churches conducting the blessing of the animals, but haven't gone. I'd imagine it's a very touching ceremony as our beloved pets are blessed.
what a nice sculpture - I like that it is made of wood rather than stone.
Fabulous carving photos. Very interesting and I love that Sophie looking up at him. Hope you have a good work week.
What a beautiful carving! I have heard of the blessing ceremonies..I think it is wonderful..and a great thing for pet lovers and kids. You captured Sophie so well, she knows the Patron Saint of Animals when she sees one! :)
Those carvings are awesome!
The Patron Saint of Animals!!! What a wonderful choice for todays photo. And I have very much enjoyed exploring your blog, thanks for visiting mine. I'm going to add yours to my "dog blog" Going to the Dogs.
Forget the religion assignment - you went right to the spirit.
Hey Andrea,
I love the story of St. Francis. I think Sophie recognizes his love of animals as well. Great photos!!
Sophie seems to be staring right into his face. How precious! Love the story and the theme. :) You always move me with your heart and beautiful writing. And Sophie? Well, she never fails to make me smile and softly chuckle in that bemused, mother tone. You did it again tonight, Sophie. Here's a big kiss on your soft muzzle from me. I love kissing border collie muzzles.
The carving looks amazing beautiful!
Awesome! I love that Sophie is looking at it too.
Gorgeous pictures. I just love St. Francis!
A fine choice for your challenge! Well done.
Frank and I came upon a small garden statue of St. Francis of Assisi last summer. We thought.. how appropriate. Here we were, the two of us animal lovers, St. Francis is Frank's saint, and it would make a great photo to get Benny in the picture with this lover of animals. Benny just saw this miniature man as "WRONG!" and barked his fool head off at it, non-stop. Gotta love a JRT. :)
Love the pics. The cemetery where my aprents are bureid has some carvings like these. There is a bald eagle, a really big bear, and 2 sandhill cranes, all carved from old oak trees.
That is a beautiful carving.
How lovely that you can go to a service with your animals. That is really nice.
Your photos are lovely. We have a similar place in this area. Wooden carvings of religious figures and also wildlife. I don't know the artist but I often drive by his work and admire it.
I enjoyed your previous posts. As a person who lives with a Border Collie, I can relate to much you say.
Marnie
What a beautiful sculpture! And so weird....we have a wooden carvingou our blog this week....spooky?
What an utterly perfect choice!
And Sophie's pose is just wonderful!
Great images of a great saint.
I came here from The Smitten Image.
You have a great blog! Thank you for coming by and wishing me Happy Birthday. It's nice to meet new friends!
Diego
Your blog has evolved so since I started reading it. I am still in kindergarten compared to you.
Beautiful carved statue of a beloved Saint!
I came here thanks to you winning a special spot on David's Post of the Day award, congratulations!
Wonderful carvings. My fav is the second picture.
I reached here from Authorblog, and congratulations.:)
Andrea, thanks for stopping by my place. And congratulations on being listed in David's POTD.
I love the fact that the dog standing by St. Francis resembles my own! I didn't know the story about the donkey weeping. That is profound.
That is a very interesting story. I love animals myself. Those carvings are stunning.
CJ xx
Beautiful. I came here by way of David McMahon.
Great photos and post.
(I had to go private on my blog - not keeping bloggers out. So you are very welcome to visit. Just email me for an invite and I will send you one. Thanks)
Fabulous! Congrats on POTD!!! I love this...Patron Saint of animals, and how appropriate is it that your dog makes an appearance in your shots??? Terrific post!
Congrats on post of the day nomination. I came over from David's. I hope his donkey really did weep. That would be so cool if it were true.
I love your photos. They tell the "Inner" story and your compositions work!
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