Sunday, October 27, 2019

Brussels: Holy Horses, Dogs, Turtles and Falcons

Holy Horses, Dogs, Turtles and Falcons (even dead animals)!  Today I had the privilege of going to an animal blessing by the local priest here in Tervuren with Prem and Randy.  An annual tradition, a blessing of animals takes place in honor of Saint Hubert (patron saint of the hunt).  What a sight to see!  First a Bishop leads a procession on horseback from the church to the Sint-Hubertus Chapel nestled in the woods, then animals of all types and sizes parade past the priest with their owners and are sprayed with holy water with what looks like a toilet brush (sorry – it really did).  Prem and Randy brought their cute dogs to be blessed.  A band played with traditional horns during the blessing and bread (protector of rabies) was given out by the boy scouts.  What a hoot – oh sorry, didn’t see any owls being blessed.

















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