8 Saints who spoke to animals

St. Francis of Assisi purportedly preached to birds and Don Bosco had his faithful dog Il Grigio. However, they aren’t the only saints to have had a special relationship with animals. Obedient crows, loyal bears and lions, and attentive fish — these are just some of the creatures who heeded and served them. From St. Gerasimus to St. Martin de Porres and St. Francis Xavier, here are anecdotes that testify to a unique harmony between holiness and Creation.

St. Joseph of Cupertino, a 17th-century Franciscan monk, is famous for levitating, but less so for his unique connection with animals. His gentleness often attracted the most timid creatures. Birds would gather around him when he prayed and seemed to listen to him attentively. Swallows followed him on his walks, and even sheep stopped to watch him in silence.

In a nearby convent, the sisters said that a small bird sang every day at the same time near their chapel. When a conflict broke out between two novices, the bird disappeared. At the request of the nuns, St. Joseph called it back. It returned immediately, as if appeased by the saint's prayer.

St. Gregory the Great recounts in his Dialogues that St. Benedict used to feed a raven that came every day from the forest to receive bread from his hands. One day, one of the priests in the area, Florentius, jealous of his influence, tried to kill the saint by offering him poisoned bread. However, St. Benedict discovered the danger. He threw the bread to the raven and ordered it to take it far away, to a place where no one could find it.

The bird hesitated, cawed, and flew in circles, but finally obeyed. It took the bread in its beak, hid it, and then returned, as usual, to fetch its daily ration.

Tradition has it that in 1546, St. Francis Xavier was traveling to Indonesia. During the journey, a storm caused the crucifix he wore around his neck to fall into the sea. Upon arriving on the island, after walking on the beach, he discovered a crab holding the crucifix. The saint knelt down and gave thanks to God for this miracle.

This crucifix accompanied St. Francis Xavier during his mission. After his death, it traveled to several places in Europe before arriving in Spain, where it remains today. A bronze crab figure was added to it in memory of this miraculous episode.

St. Anthony the Great is one of the patron saints of animals. According to tradition, two lions helped him dig the tomb of St. Paul the Hermit. In many countries, every year on his feast day (January 17) churches have a ceremony to bless animals, whether pets or farm animals.

St. Martin de Porres treated animals with compassion, considering them to be creatures of God. He endured mosquito bites, saying that they too had a right to feed themselves. One day, he peacefully persuaded rats to leave the convent's pantry when his prior wanted him to poison them.

Another famous story tells how he managed to get a dog, a cat, and a mouse to live in peace, sharing the same dish.

This great Russian ascetic spent many years in solitude in the forests, devoting his life to prayer and penance. St. Seraphim of Sarov often fed the wild animals that came to him. One of them, a bear, became his faithful and obedient companion. The saint fed him bread. His visitors were amazed to see such a ferocious animal behave so gently towards the man of God.

St. Gerasimus was a 5th-century hermit from Palestine, an anchorite and founder of a monastery on the banks of the Jordan River. According to tradition, one day Gerasimus encountered a lion in the desert, but it didn't attack him. He saw that it was suffering from an infected thorn wound in its paw. The good monk removed the splinter and dressed its wound. The animal became his faithful companion. When he died, it let itself die on his grave. The saint is often depicted on icons with a lion.

We often invoke this saint to help find lost items, but there’s much more to him than that. For example, one day, while St. Anthony was preaching in the city of Rimini, he was met with indifference and stubborn rejection from some of the inhabitants. Faced with their hardness of heart, he went to the seashore and addressed the fish as if they were attentive believers: “Listen to the word of God, you creatures of the sea, since men refuse to hear it.”

Immediately, a multitude of fish raised their heads out of the water and gathered in silence, as if to listen to him. The saint spoke to them about the goodness of the Creator, and the fish showed their attention by moving their fins and remaining in place until the end of the sermon.

This miracle deeply moved those who witnessed the scene, especially the heretics who were present, who converted when they saw the sea creatures react with more faith than men. This episode earned St. Anthony even greater renown, not only as a preacher, but also as an intercessor for all of Creation.