Catholics from all over the Teche Area and beyond congregated all along the Bayou Teche to celebrate an important religious holiday in a uniquely Cajun way with the annual Fete Dieu du Teche.

The Eucharistic procession started early Monday with a French Mass led by Diocese of Lafayette Bishop John Douglas Deshotel at St. Leo’s in Leonville.

Following the Mass, clergy and volunteers boarded one of many boats on the Bayou Teche and proceeded to make stops throughout the day in Arnaudville, Cecilia, Breaux Bridge, Parks and finally St. Martinville where a procession was made to St. Martin du Tours Catholic Church for Benediction.

The Fete is a twofold celebration. It commemorates the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary who also serves as the patroness of the Acadian people and Acadiana. The day is an important one for Catholics all over the world and the Teche Area’s heavily Catholic population.

“We’re all sweating but it’s great,” John Granger, who was waiting for the flotilla of boats to arrive in St. Martinville Monday afternoon, said.

The Fete is also a commemoration of the anniversary of the arrival of the French-Canadian immigrants who would eventually become southwest Louisiana’s Cajun population.

In the same way that the first Acadian settlers sailed the Bayou Teche to find a new home following exile from their homeland, the Fete Dieu du Teche follows the same course.

“In the Diocese of Lafayette, August 15 is the day observed when the Acadians began settling in our part of Louisiana. 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,” Bishop Douglas Deshotel said in a prepared statement.

The Fete consists of a fleet of boats sailing down the Bayou Teche complete with religious statues, incense and the monstrance containing the Eucharist at the center of the procession.

Those watching from the sidelines kneeled in observation of their religious convictions as the boats passed and finally landed on St. Martinville Sunday afternoon.