Pet Blessings
Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, marks the Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals and the environment. To commemorate this observance, Archdiocese of Chicago parishes and shrines will host outdoor pet blessings over the weekend, beginning on Friday, Oct. 3 through Sunday, Oct. 5, weather permitting.
Furry, feathery, fluffy, slimy, and spikey friends of all shapes and sizes are welcome to the celebrations. All animals must be safely secured or on leashes. The pet blessings will be held on parish lawns or parking lots unless otherwise noted.
Attendees are asked to confirm details of the listings with their parishes in advance.
8:15 a.m.
- Queen of Apostles, blessing will take place at Queen of Angels School, 4520 N. Western Ave., Chicago
3:10 p.m.
- Queen of Apostles, blessing will take place at St. Matthias School, 4910 N. Claremont Ave., Chicago
4 – 6 p.m.
- St. Michael, 1633 N. Cleveland Ave., Chicago. Playtime for dogs and cookout for parishioners (hot dogs will be served) from 4 - 6 p.m. on the parish lawn. Blessing of pets will take place at 6 p.m.
9 a.m.
- Assumption, 323 W. Illinois St., Chicago. Blessing will take place until 10 a.m. in front of the church. Walk-bys or drive-bys are welcome.
- Holy Name Cathedral in the courtyard, 735 N. State St., Chicago. Mass with blessing.
- Little Flower at the St.Dismas Church worship site, 2600 Sunset Ave., Waukegan
- Queen of Apostles at the Queen of Angels Church worship site, 2330 W. Sunnyside Ave., Chicago
- St. Clement, 642 W. Deming Pl., Chicago. Blessing will take place in front of the church.
- St. Paul of the Cross, 320 S. Washington Ave., Park Ridge. Blessing will take place in the parking lot.
- St. Raphael the Archangel, 40000 North U.S. Highway 45, Old Mill Creek. Pets or livestock will be blessed after the 9 a.m. Mass. The blessing will also be available by request after the 4 p.m. Mass.
- Mary, Mother of Martyrs Parish at the St. Stephen Protomartyr parking lot, 1865 Spruce, Des Plaines.
9:30 a.m.
- St. Alphonsus, 1429 W. Wellington Ave., Chicago. Blessing will take place on the outside veranda of the church.
- Old St. Patrick’s. Blessing will take place at the Farmer’s Market in the West Loop at Mary Bartelme Park, 115 S. Sangamon St., Chicago. Free treats and a special gift will be given to each pet.
9:45 a.m.
- Queen of Apostles at the St. Matthias worship site, 2310 W. Ainslie St., Chicago
10 a.m.
- Holy Family Catholic Community, 2515 W. Palatine Rd., Inverness. Blessing will take place in the parish courtyard.
- Our Lady of the Woods, 10731 W. 131st St., Orland Park. Blessing will take place in front of the church.
- St. Carlo Acutis at the St. John Berchmans worship site, 2517 W. Logan Blvd., Chicago
- St. Joseph the Worker, 181 W. Dundee Rd., Wheeling
- St. Mary of the Annunciation, 22333 W. Erhart Rd., Mundelein. Blessing will take place in front of church at the St. Mary Front Plaza.
- St. Peter Damian, 131 S. Crest Ave., Bartlett. Blessing will take place outside in front of Hardy Hall.
- St. Thomas the Apostle, 5472 S. Kimbark Ave., Chicago. Blessing will take on the parish lawn on Kimbark Avenue.
11 a.m.
- Old St. Mary's, 1500 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago
- St. Augustine, 4130 147th St., Midlothian. Blessing will take place in the parking lot.
- St. John XXIII at the St. Nicholas Church worship site courtyard, 806 Ridge Ave., Evanston
11:30 a.m.
- St. Theresa, 455 N. Benton St., Palatine. Blessing will take place outside of the church belltower entrance.
- Saint Mary of the Lake and Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, 4220 North Sheridan Road Chicago. Blessing will be on the front lawn.
12 p.m.
- All Saints at the Saint Martha Church worship site, 8523 Georgiana Ave., Morton Grove. Blessing will take place in front of the church.
- Church of St. Mary, 175 E. Illinois Rd., Lake Forest. Blessing to take place at St. Mary’s Green (on Illinois Road).
- Holy Cross, 724 Elder Ln., Deerfield. Blessing will take place on the front lawn of the House on the Hill.
- Holy Virgin Martyrs, 4157 Atlantic Ave., Schiller Park. Blessing will take place in the parking lot.
- Mary, Mother of God will have pet blessings at each worship site:
- St. Gregory the Great Church, 5545 N. Paulina, Chicago. Blessing will take place in the courtyard parking lot.
- St. Ita Church, 5525 N. Magnolia, Chicago. Blessing will take place on the school playground.
- St. Thomas of Canterbury Church, 4827 N. Kenmore, Chicago. Blessing will take place on the church stairs.
- National Shrine of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, 2520 N. Lakeview, Chicago. Bishop Daniel Turley, OSA, will bless pets.
- Our Lady of the Rosary will bless pets at two worship sites:
- St. Bartholomew Church, 3601 N. Lavergne Ave., Chicago. Blessing will take place in the parking lot.
- St. Pascal Church, 3935 N. Melvina Ave., Chicago. Blessing will take place in Dakin Street parking lot.
- St. Brigid at the Our Lady of Humility worship site, 10655 W. Wadsworth Rd., Beach Park
- St. Clare of Assisi, 700 S. Meier Rd., Mt. Prospect. Blessing will take place in front of the church.
- St. Elizabeth of the Trinity, 5859 N. Moody Ave., Chicago. Blessing will take place in the Moody Avenue parking lot.
- St. Gilbert, 301 E. Belvidere Rd., Grayslake. Blessing will take place in front of the chapel (east parking lot).
- St. Mary of the Annunciation, 22333 W. Erhart Rd., Mundelein. Blessing will take place in front of the church.
- St. Mother Theodore Guerin at the St. Cyprian worship site, 2601 N. Clinton, River Grove. Blessing will take place by the canopy between the rectory and the church.
- St. Rita of Cascia, 6243 S. Fairfield Ave., Chicago. Blessing will take place at the Garden of Our Lady of Guadalupe located at the northeast corner of 63rd Street and Fairfield Avenue.
- St. Cajetan, 2445 W. 112th St., Chicago. Blessing will take place in the Mary Garden.
- Mary, Mother of Martyrs Parish at the St. Mary parking lot, 830 Pearson St., Des Plaines
1 p.m.
- Holy Archangels at the St. Hubert worship site, 729 Grand Canyon St., Hoffman Estates
- Our Lady of the Lakes will have blessings at each worship site:
- St. Bede worship site: 36455 N. Wilson Rd., Ingleside
- St. Peter worship site: 557 Lake St., Antioch
- St. Brigid at the St. Patrick worship site, 15000 W. Wadsworth Rd., Wadsworth
- St. Gianna, 10233 S. Central Park, Evergreen Park. Blessing will take place at the James Sexton Park located at 91st Street and Rockwell Avenue
- St. Mary Frances of the Five Wounds will have blessings at each worship site:
- St. Mary of Celle, 1428 S. Wesley, Berwyn. Blessing will take place in the parking lot.
- St. Frances of Rome, 1428 S. 59th Ct., Cicero. Blessing will take place in the parking lot.
- St. Mother Theodore Guerin at the St. Celestine worship site, 3020 N. 76th Ct., Elmwood Park. Blessing takes place by a pet memorial by the 76th Court entrance to the church.
1:30 p.m.
- St. Julie Billiart, 7399 W. 159th St., Tinley Park. Blessing will take place in the south lot.
- St. John Fisher, 10234 S. Washtenaw Ave., Chicago. Blessing will take place near the bell tower.
2 p.m.
- Our Lady of Guadalupe, 3200 E. 91st St., Chicago. The blessing will take place in the parking lot located west of the church building.
- St. Barnabas, 10134 S. Longwood Dr., Chicago
- St. Patrick, 991 S. Waukegan Rd., Lake Forest. The blessing will take place in the rectory parking lot located near the NW corner of Waukegan and Everett Roads.
2:30 p.m.
- St. John of the Cross, 5005 Wolf Rd., Western Springs. Blessing will take place behind the Parish Center.
3 p.m.
- All Saints at the Saint Isaac Jogues Church worship site, 8149 W. Golf Road, Niles. Blessing will take place in of the rectory.
- St. Catherine of Siena-St. Lucy, St. Giles, 1045 Columbian Ave., Oak Park. Blessing will take place at the courtyard at St. Giles site.
- St. Francis de Sales, 33 S. Buesching Rd., Lake Zurich. Blessing will take place in the west church parking lot.
- St. John Brebeuf, 8305 N. Harlem Ave., Niles. Blessing will take place in the courtyard.
- St. Rita of Cascia at the St. Clare of Montefalco worship site, 2650 W. 55th St. (near the northeast corner of 55th Street and Washtenaw Avenue). Blessing will take place in the front lawn.
5 p.m.
- All Souls at St. Ann worship site, 3010 Ridge Rd., Lansing. Blessing will take place in the driveway after the 4 p.m. Mass.
5:30 p.m.
- Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Melrose Park, 1101 N. 23rd Ave., Melrose Park. Blessings will take place before and after the 5:30 p.m. Mass.
6 p.m.
- Mary, Mother of Martyrs Parish at the St. Stephen Protomartyr parking lot, 1865 Spruce, Des Plaines.
7 p.m.
- St. Anthony of Padua, 1510 S. 49th Ct., Cicero. The blessing will be in Spanish.
11:30 a.m.
- All Souls at St. Ann worship site, 3010 Ridge Rd., Lansing. Blessing will take place after the 10:30 a.m. Mass.
12:00 p.m.
- • St. John Neumann Parish, 17951 Dixie Highway, Homewood. Blessing will take place in the parish parking lot by the school entrance.
12:30 p.m.
- St. John XXIII at the St. Mary Church worship site garden, 1012 Lake St., Evanston
- St. Peter's Church, 110 W. Madison, Chicago. Blessing will take place in front of the church at 110 W. Madison, Chicago
2 p.m.
- St. Mary of the Angels, 1850 N. Hermitage Ave., Chicago. Blessing will take place in the parking lot.
3 p.m.
- Christ Our Hope, at the Immaculate Conception worship site, 770 Deerfield Rd., Highland Park. The blessing will take place in the Meditation Garden.
4 p.m.
- St. Joseph, 121 E. Maple Ave., Libertyville, at Sunrise Rotary Park across the street from the church in Libertyville.