Animals

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Cardinal Mauro Gambetti greets animals and offers his blessing in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024.

PHOTOS: Animals blessed in St. Peter’s Square for feast of St. Anthony Abbot

Jan 17, 2024

By Courtney Mares

On the feast of the co-patron saint of animals, the Vatican welcomed animals large and small to be blessed by... Read more

A young alpha male wolf (Canis lupus), looks for food in the Finnish taiga in Hukkajarvi area, Eastern Finland near Russian border, on July 5, 2023.

Did St. Francis really tame a savage wolf? A look at the legend

Oct 4, 2023

By Jonah McKeown, Kate Olivera

A historic church sits on the spot where, as the story goes, St. Francis of Assisi made a pact with... Read more

Farmers and pet owners alike brought out their beloved animals to the Vatican for a special blessing on the feast of St. Anthony Abbot, Jan. 17, 2023.

PHOTOS: Animals blessed in St. Peter’s Square for feast of St. Anthony Abbot

Jan 17, 2023

By Courtney Mares

Farmers and pet owners alike brought their beloved animals to the Vatican for a special blessing on Jan. 17. Read more

Benedict XVI greeted a fluffy black cat named Pushkin during his visit to the Birmingham Oratory established by St. John Henry Newman.

Benedict XVI: A look back at the cat-loving pope’s favorite feline friends

Jan 1, 2023

By Courtney Mares

The late pope emeritus had a great love for cats was known to feed the many cats that lived in... Read more

Pope Francis greets a child in St. Peter's Square during the general audience on April 20, 2016. Daniel Ibanez/CNA

Pope Francis, Jane Goodall speak on ‘what it means to be human’ at Vatican health conference

May 8, 2021

By Courtney Mares

Pope Francis and Jane Goodall both offered perspectives on “what it means to be human” on the final day of... Read more

No monkey business: Chimps don’t have human rights, philosophers say

May 11, 2018

By Perry West

After a New York judge said that courts must seriously consider whether animals deserve some legal protections afforded to people,... Read more

Margaret from The Pope's Cat looking out on the Square. Illustration by Roy Deleon, courtesy of Paraclete Press.

The Pope's Cat: New book series introduces kids to papal office, Rome

Mar 18, 2018

By Mary Farrow

Margaret, the fictional stray cat adopted by a fictional Pope in a new children’s book series, gets an up-close and... Read more

'Friar Carmelo'.

Meet the four-legged Franciscan 'friar'

Mar 8, 2017

The newest member of St. Francis Monastery in Cochabamba, Bolivia, is furry and has four legs.  Read more

Magnum the St. Bernard at the Vatican during Pope Francis’ May 18, 2016 general audience.

This Saint Bernard just met Pope Francis

May 18, 2016

By Elise Harris

While Pope Francis might have chastised animal-lovers who treat their pets better than people in last week’s general audience, that... Read more

Pope Francis at Jubilee of Mercy audience in St. Peter's Square. May 14, 2016.

Pope Francis: You can't love your pet more than your neighbor

May 14, 2016

People in need deserve more love from us than the animals do, Pope Francis has said.  Read more