Come to the Water: Eucharist boat procession along the Bayou Teche celebrates faith, history

(OSV News) — Since its beginnings more than a decade ago, the Fête-Dieu du Teche — a Eucharistic procession of boats organized by Father Michael Champagne and the Community of Jesus Crucified in the Diocese of Lafayette, Louisiana — has become one of Louisiana’s most vibrant annual festivals.

Seamlessly combining Catholic faith and Cajun heritage, the event took place Aug. 15, on the Solemnity of Mary’s Assumption, a day long designated as National Acadian Day.

Although the 2024 Fête-Dieu (French for “Godfest”) traveled from Baton Rouge to New Orleans as part of the National Eucharistic Revival, this year’s event was more local in scale. The single-day, 40-mile procession on water and land along the Bayou Teche, a waterway meandering between lakes and rivers in the south-central region of the state, honored both the 250th anniversary of American Independence and the 261st anniversary of Catholicism in the region.

Celebrating “One Nation Under God,” the procession retraced the aquatic pathways traveled by exiled French Catholics who migrated to Louisiana in the 1760s.

Known now as “Cajuns,” the founders of these local communities were part of the Acadian Global Diaspora that followed their forced expulsion from Canada by the British at the end of the Seven Years’ War (known in North America as the French and Indian War). Approximately 4 million people worldwide can trace their ancestry to Acadian settlers, according to historical estimates.

Beginning with a French-language Mass celebrated by Lafayette Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel and concluding with Vespers, numerous boats made six scheduled prayer stops at churches and parks along the way.

The procession included boats with bells, a life-size crucifix, incense, the Holy Eucharist exposed in a monstrance, a statue of Our Lady of the Assumption — officially designated as patroness of the Acadian people by Pope Pius XI in 1938 — followed by a statue of St. Joseph and the Child Jesus.

Despite a record-breaking heatwave, thousands of lay, clergy and religious participants gathered at the water’s edge to greet the Presence of Christ on the Bayou, pray the Rosary, sing hymns, and spend time in Eucharistic adoration throughout the day. The Sacrament of Confession was offered at all scheduled stops along the Bayou.

The event was livestreamed on Facebook and broadcast on an FM radio station. Those who could not make the pilgrimage were able to unite themselves to the prayers being offered, nonetheless. A “7-year renewable Plenary Indulgence” was granted by Pope Francis to all who participate in the Fête-Dieu, under the normal conditions, said the organizers.

The annual Fête has had a profound and tangible impact, said the event’s organizers in a press release. It has moved many to return to the sacraments, others to incorporate adoration as part of their daily lives; for some, it has been a vehicle for family healing, and for others, it has been a grace for a vocation.

Father Abelardo Gabriel, pastor at Notre Dame du Perpetuel Secours in St. Martinville, was emphatic in his support of this annual event.

“Fête-Dieu du Teche is phenomenal,” he said in the release. “It brings people together from different walks of life in celebration of victory and in gratitude to Jesus and our Blessed Mother for seeing them through their struggles in life.”

“The outpouring of public faith that we see in the Fête reminds us that although the Church may be under attack, the Eucharist will always be the source of our unity as we persevere,” added Kim Hardey, a Lafayette physician.

With countless moving parts, the Fête-Dieu requires a great deal of planning and coordination. That effort will increase exponentially in the year ahead. Why? Father Michael Champagne explained that many different milestones are taking place, including the 200th anniversary of the Diocese of St. Louis, which was carved out of the Diocese of Louisiana and the Two Floridas in 1826.

“We share St. Sophie Barat, the Jesuits, Mother Cabrini… There are a lot of connections between us and St. Louis,” he explained. “Next year is the 300th anniversary of the arrival of the Ursuline sisters in New Orleans. The Ursulines are running the oldest continuously operating school in the country — that’s 300 years nonstop. Even more, the first brick church built on the site of St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans was consecrated that same year, 1727. So, we were asked to move the Fête once again to the (Mississippi) River.”

Undaunted by big ideas, the next Fête-Dieu will wind down the Mississippi from St. Louis to New Orleans, Louisiana, in an unprecedented eight-day Eucharistic procession by boat from Dec. 2-9, 2027. In the meantime, the Assumption will be celebrated in St. Martinville next summer with a five-day marathon Bible reading.

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