Patron Saint of Santa Fe
In 1610 Don Pedro de Peralta of Spain, founded the city of Santa Fe. The city’s official name La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asis, or The Royal City of the Holy Faith of St. Francis of Assisi.
The very Rev.Msgr. Jerome Martinez Y Alire serves as a priest and rector for the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi. He shares, “St. Francis is everybody’s saint. You do not have to be Catholic to profit from the life and lessons of St. Francis. He typifies simplicity and poverty following the life of Christ.”
Today, St. Francis annual feast day falls on October 4. On this day the priests will take time to bless the animals. St. Francis is also associated a being the patron saint of animals.
“There are three reasons why St. Francis is associated with animals, ” Martinez said, “The first is because he believed that all God’s creatures – including animals – glowed with the power of God’s love. The second is that when he first began to preach, he would not always be successful preaching to people. So he would preach to the animals instead, and the animals would stop what they were doing and listen. The third reason has to do with a wolf in Gubbio who was eating the people. St. Francis went to meet with the wolf and made a deal with him that if the people fed the wolf, the wolf would stop eating the people.”
- a prayer attributed to St. Francis -
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred – let me show Love.
Where there is injury – Pardon
Where there is doubt – Faith
Where there is despair – Hope
Where there is darkness – Light
And where there is sadness – Joy
The Santa Fe New Mexican, “The Saint in Santa Fe”, Gregory Pleshaw, Bienvenidos 2009.
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