Saint Anthony Abbot: the Blessing of Animals Returns to St Peter’s Square

The feast of Saint Anthony Abbot will be celebrated tomorrow, Saturday 17 January 2026, a tradition deeply felt also within the Vatican and which for about eighteen years has taken place between St Peter’s Square and Piazza Pio XII, becoming a much-anticipated event for pilgrims, visitors and families.

The heart of the celebration will first and foremost be liturgical. At 11:00 a.m., Holy Mass will be celebrated in St Peter’s Basilica for pilgrims, visitors and the faithful, on the day in which the memory of Saint Anthony Abbot invites reflection on an authentic and responsible relationship with creation.

Only after the Eucharistic clebration, attention will move outside the Basilica. In Piazza Pio XII, an open-air stable will be set up, hosting farm and domestic animals brought by various agricultural associations. Cows, donkeys, horses, sheep, chickens, as well as dogs and cats, will offer a vivid image of the bond between humanity, nature and creation.

Here, the Blessing of the Animals will take place, imparted by H. E. Mauro Gambetti, Archpriest of St Peter’s Basilica. A simple yet meaningful gesture, recalling the responsibility to care for and respect all forms of life.

The message accompanying the celebration unfolds on several levels: on one hand, attention to respect for animals and nature; on the other, the recognition of rural work, agriculture and farmers, daily custodians of a fragile but essential balance.

The feast of Saint Anthony Abbot also evokes a deep biblical symbolism. Animals accompany the history of salvation as signs of God’s message: from Noah’s dove, a symbol of peace and covenant, to Abraham’s sacrificial lamb; from the raven that feeds the prophet Elijah, to the ox and the donkey of Bethlehem, silent witnesses of the Incarnation.

In this perspective, the blessing becomes an invitation to recognise God as the guardian of all creation, the One who blesses every creature, great or small, and entrusts humanity with the responsibility of caring for it with respect, care and gratitude.

A popular tradition that, from St Peter’s Square, continues to speak to the present day.