Early Sunday morning, there will be a group of the faithful heading to 8 a.m. Mass in Leonville. But it won’t be just a regular Sunday, because this particular Mass, at St. Leo the Great Church, will be said in French, and the celebrant will be Bishop John Douglas Deshotel. It will commence the Seventh Annual Eucharistic Boat Procession on Bayou Teche, Fête-Dieu du Teche. 

This year’s 40-mile procession by boat will mark the Year of St. Joseph, and the Year of the Family. Families are encouraged to participate and worship together, either by boat or at each stop. 

Aug. 15 is a significant date as it is the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Patroness of the Acadian people and of Acadiana. Fête-Dieu du Teche will also commemorate the 256th anniversary of the arrival of the French-Canadian immigrants who brought the Catholic faith to Acadiana after enduring great trials and suffering, the first victims of ethnic cleansing in the New World. 

At the end of the French and Indian War, they were forced out of their homes in Nova Scotia and into exile because of their religious beliefs. They traveled south, to find new homes in South Louisiana, welcomed as Catholic and French. Settlements were established along the Bayou Teche, where they built homes, churches and new lives.

Father Michael Champagne, organizer of the event said, “Having a Eucharistic Procession by boat on the waters of the Teche rather than by foot in the streets makes a lot of sense. Fête-Dieu du Teche on the Feast of the Assumption recalls our rich Acadian history and, in a way, re-enacts the journey made by the Acadians over 250 years ago.”

Champagne said that having a boat procession with the Blessed Sacrament and a statue of the Assumption involving priests, religious and laity is basically what happened in 1765: “In order to serve the Acadian settlers in the Attakapas district, Father Jean-Louis de Civrey accompanied the Acadians on their journey down the Bayou Teche. Father de Civrey became the first resident priest. In his records, he refers to his new home as ‘la nouvelle Acadie’ and his new parish ‘l’Eglise des Attakapas’ and later, l’Eglise St. Martin de Tours. It is believed that St. Martinville is named after the church.”

During Fête-Dieu du Teche, the Blessed Sacrament will be carried on an altar under a canopy on the lead boat. Another boat will carry the statue of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This year will feature a St. Joseph boat as well as a boat carrying relics of the saints. The procession will stop and disembark at makeshift altars along the Teche for recitation of the Rosary and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. The public is invited to join the 8 a.m. Mass at Leonville, then to drive and gather at any of the planned stops along the Teche. 

Because of the continuing COVID threat and local mandates, attendees are encouraged to mask indoors and observe social distancing. Also because of these restrictions, a stop at Notre Dame de Perpetuel Secours will be conducted outdoors, as the church is small and unable to accommodate the number of worshipers anticipated. There will be marshals placed along the route to remind participants about the guidelines. 

There is still time to register a boat to join the procession. The procession will travel at about 8 mph, thus only motorized vessels are allowed. Register online by completing the form at https://www.jesuscrucified.net/events/fete-dieu-du-teche-2021/form and signing the online waiver. Once completed, the boat coordinator will contact sailors with details. Boaters are asked to have an FM radio in order to participate in prayers led by the lead boat. 50 boats will be allowed to participate, which will form a one-mile procession.

Those who cannot trend the event can watch streaming video to follow the prayers and devotions live from the Eucharistic boat, at www.facebook.com/CommunityofJesusCrucified.