St. Francis Day is for the Dogs (...& cats & guinea pigs & snakes)
Reverend Beth O'Malley, Dean of the Chapel, or Rev Beth as she is better known on campus, shares her St Francis Day tradition and reflects on her observations of the human-pet relationships she sees around her every day.
The Reverend Beth O'Malley P'23, P'25, P'25
Title
Dean of the Chapel
Hood's "Rev Beth" is one of the most recognizable faces on campus, and her office heads up opportunities for Spiritual Life on campus, which has included a Blessing of the Animals on or around St Francis Day, Oct 4. She describes her role this way (from the Spiritual Life page of the website):
"The Office of the Dean of the Chapel facilitates and supports the religious and spiritual lives of all students, encouraging you to explore and develop your faith as you develop your minds. Through worship, service, programs and outreach events, Hood students are encouraged to make vital connections on campus and with the wider community.
We believe that exploring and developing your personal values along with your academic and professional pursuits is a vital part of life at Hood College. The rich diversity of beliefs and traditions represented on our campus is reflected in our programming. Whether you serve at a local food pantry, join an Alternative Break trip to Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands, enjoy a Sunday Pancake Potluck Dinner or participate in a student faith group, you’ll learn about “Corde et Mente et Manu”, Hood’s tradition of joining hearts, minds and hands to build a strong community."
The O'Malley family is also a Blazer Family! This past Spring (2025) Rev. O'Malley's two daughters, Olivia and Maura, graduated from Hood with their Bachelors of Arts. Her husband Randy received a certificate in Project Management in 2023.
For those who don't know, when did you become Hood College Dean of the Chapel? What brought you here?
I came to Hood in August 2008. During seminary I did a residency in hospital chaplaincy then went on to serve as pastor to several churches in Ohio after graduating. When my husband Randy received an offer to work for a new biotech company in Maryland. Before we moved, I left my church to work as interim director of a YMCA campus ministry for 3 universities in Cleveland. That started my love of working with students and gave me experience to apply for the position at Hood.
Can you describe how your administering the Blessing of the Animals came about and what the event is like on campus?
The church I served before coming to Hood met in an interfaith center in Columbia, MD. My Roman Catholic colleagues held annual Blessing of the Animals services to commemorate St. Francis of Assisi Day (he's the patron saint of animals), and those were full of so much love and good energy that I introduced the celebration to our church.
Lots of our members had pets who were family members, so they were excited to bring them for a blessing. We held it outdoors, gathering in a circle to receive a group prayer and individual blessings. The humans and animals were all well behaved, but we learned some important lessons like kids with guinea pigs shouldn't stand too close to people who bring big yellow boa constrictors! (Thankfully no lives were lost.)
Hood's Blessing of the Animals (on campus) is a multifaith celebration, welcoming people of all religious and spiritual backgrounds.
You have been in the "blessing" business for a long time. What are your observations about how the Hood community integrates pets in different ways into campus life? How does it affect campus culture?
As far as I can remember, there weren't animals on campus in the early 2000's except for the dogs who passed through with neighbors who live in the area. Service animals were few and far between and emotional support animals weren't common at all. That changed as we received more requests for animals to accompany students, then faculty and staff. Hood's administrators realized the power animals have to support mental and physical health, and our Office of Accessibilty staff worked to make this transition safe and smooth.
I think the presence of animals on campus has been a benefit to many of the rest of us. When dogs have come with students into the health and wellness class I co-teach, I can feel the general mood in the room relax. There's nothing like hearing a dog sigh as it stretches out on the floor to bring smiles to a lot of tense or tired faces. As an animal lover, I think this makes for a good learning environment.
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