Louisiana boat procession to be offered for 'peace in our hearts, families, communities'

LAFAYETTE, La. (OSV News) -- The ninth annual Fête-Dieu du Teche in the Diocese of Lafayette takes place Aug. 15, the feast of the Assumption, and this year's 37-mile Eucharistic procession down the Bayou Teche by boat "is offered to beseech the Prince of Peace for peace in our hearts, families and communities and an end of gun violence now so prevalent," said a news release announcing the event.

"Once gun violence was a concern only in large cities, now even along the peaceful shores of the Teche there remains a constant threat of violence and death, especially among the youth," the release added.

The procession will begin in Franklin with an 8 a.m. Mass celebrated in French by Lafayette Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel, at the historic Church of the Assumption and then work its way north to St. Peter Church in New Iberia.

After Mass in Franklin, the faithful will process with the Blessed Sacrament and a statue of Mary and St. Joseph to the nearby boat landing. After benediction, a cannon will sound at 9:30 a.m. and boats will then depart in procession down the Teche toward New Iberia.

The Blessed Sacrament is fixed on an altar on the lead boat under a canopy. Two bell boats announce Jesus' arrival and another boat carries a thurible that will burn over 10 lbs. of incense along the journey, the release said. A statue of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and a statue of St. Joseph follow on individual boats behind Jesus.

"The Fête-Dieu has become a noble tradition here in the Diocese of Lafayette," said Father William Blanda, pastor of St. Peter and vicar forane of the diocese's southern deanery. "Our people richly steeped in devotion to our Lord present in the Most Blessed Sacrament and to his holy Mother give honor to this richness which has nurtured the people of our diocese for many generations."

He said the yearly pilgrimage down the Bayou Teche "sustains our devotion for our generation and for generations to come."

Between Franklin and New Iberia, the boat procession will make stops at Baldwin, Chitimacha Reservation and Jeanerette, allowing people to disembark for recitation of the rosary and benediction at makeshift altars. Priests will be available at each stop for confessions.

The final stop for the flotilla will be at 4:45 p.m. at New Iberia Park, where participants will embark for benediction followed by a half-mile procession to St. Peter Church for solemn vespers and final benediction at 5:30 p.m.

Father Michael Champagne, a priest of the Community of Jesus Crucified in St. Martinville, lead organizer of the daylong event, said that those who are unable to participate by boat are invited to join the Mass at the Church of the Assumption in Franklin and then drive to any of the planned stops. The prayers also will be broadcast live on radio and livestreamed at https://www.facebook.com/CommunityofJesusCrucified.

He described the final stop, in New Iberia, as "a good stop for families to gather together to close the day with a burst of Eucharistic praise."

The Lafayette Diocese also observes the Aug. 15 feast of the Assumption as the anniversary of "when the Acadians began settling in our part of Louisiana" in 1765, Bishop Deshotel said.

"After the French and Indian War, around 1763, the British demanded that those living in present day Nova Scotia renounce their Catholic faith and swear allegiance to the British king. Those who did not were expelled from the country," he explained. "They lost their lands, their homes and (for) some, their lives. It was the first example of ethnic cleansing in the New World. Many came to settle in South Louisiana where it was French and Catholic. They brought their culture, their food, and their Catholic faith -- a special devotion to the holy Eucharist and Mary the Mother of God."

Father Champagne told OSV News that the all-day flotilla requires some 120 volunteers to ensure that its many "moving parts" synchronize. The event draws thousands from Louisiana and beyond, he added.

Among the participants attending each year is Sister Anne-Marie, a member of the Sister Servants of the Community of Jesus Crucified. She has been coming since the first procession Aug. 15, 2015.

"The proximity to the Blessed Sacrament has been powerful. Several times Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament has been just merely a foot from my face," she said. "Seeing my reflection in the pure, white host, I'm reminded of St. John Paul II's words, 'In the end there will be father, child and love.' These words became reality for me several times throughout the course of my experiences of the Fête."

Father Champagne told OSV News that the 2024 event will be a two-day 130-mile procession down the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. "It will involve large tug boats and barges," he said, adding that a 15-foot monstrance "is under construction."

"The event will both commemorate our 10th annual boat procession, as well as usher us into the missionary phase of the National Eucharistic Revival," the priest said, adding that it also will commemorate the 750th anniversary of the death "of the great Eucharistic saint, Thomas Aquinas."