After setting up a tent and sitting area Wednesday afternoon, a reader climbed the top of a fire truck where a podium was placed and started the first words of Genesis 1:1.

The reading, which has not stopped, is part of the Community of Jesus Crucified’s annual Jubilee of the Word Marathon where the entire Bible is read at St. Martinville Square in front of St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church.

The religious group has been planning the event for more than a month, with more than 200 volunteers on deck to read select passages from Scripture starting Wednesday and ending Sunday as part of an annual religious observance.

Organizers pride the event on being non-stop once it gets going, and also contains other popular staples of the Community of Jesus Crucified, including a decommissioned ambulance van that has been refitted to become a “Spiritual Care Unit” that Catholics can use for Confession in downtown St. Martinville.

Volunteers will be active in the square until Sunday, when the event will finish in the book of Revelations.

The Community of Jesus Crucified is a St. Martinville-based religious organization that puts on several unique events throughout the year, including Jubilee of the Word and Fête-Dieu du Teche, a 40-mile Eucharistic procession during the Feast of hte Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary that spans the Bayou Teche.