Father Sebastian Chako of Sacred Heart Parish in Wai'anae will bless all creatures large and small. He has done it many times — from elephants to tiny fish.

So far, though, the blessing of a peacock has eluded him.

"I have blessed a wild turkey," he said, "but never a peacock."

That could change come the Feast Day of St. Francis on Oct. 4, when the former African missionary who hails from India performs the blessing-of-the-animals ceremony on the great lawn at Our Lady of Kea'au, a sublime 58-acre Franciscan retreat on a hillside overlooking the sea.

Since peacocks roam free on the property, the priest no doubt will add the colorful exotic birds to his blessing list.

Otherwise, anything from house pets to barnyard critters to leaping lizards are more than welcome, said Cheryl Tamura, spokeswoman for St. Francis Healthcare System of Hawai'i, which operates the retreat at 83-300 Farrington Highway — provided, she quickly added, "they're on a leash, or a rope, or are in a cage, tank or carrier."

The ceremony, from 1 to 3 p.m., will be the second on the great lawn since Our Lady of Kea'au purchased the property from the Queen Lili'uokalani Trust in 2005.

Following the blessing, pet owners will be treated to music, refreshments, photo-taking with their animals, and a tour of the facility, which has a chapel, a long house, furnished cabins, tennis courts, a swimming pool and recreational fields, said Tamura.

According to Sebastian, the ceremony is in keeping with the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, nature and the environment, who was born in Italy in 1182. The worldly son of a wealthy merchant, St. Francis eventually denounced his father's riches and turned to prayer and devotion to the poor, less fortunate, and, naturally, animals.

"He seemed to always be talking to birds and animals," said the priest.

St. Francis died at age 45, having founded all Franciscan orders. The animal blessing ceremony is done in remembrance of St. Francis' love of all God's creations, said Sebastian.

Christians the world over are familiar with St. Francis of Assisi, even if they don't always realize it.

"The Christmas nativity scene originated with St. Francis Assisi," he said. "He started the tradition of the manger, and with the animals in the church. That was a taboo until he came along — you know, you didn't put animals in the church."

All the animals will be blessed together on Feast Day, he said. The ceremony will begin with a prayer, after which Sebastian will walk around the lawn, sprinkling holy water on each animal.

One creature he doesn't expect to be blessing that day — although he'd like to someday — is a serpent.

"I've never blessed a snake," he said. "But, this being Hawai'i, we shall leave that for another time."

Reach Will Hoover at whoover@honoluluadvertiser.com.