Catholics in the Teche Area are gearing up for an annual 40-mile Eucharistic Procession across the Bayou Teche Monday.

Fête-Dieu du Teche 2022 begins at 8 a.m. with Sunday Mass in French by Bishop Douglas Deshotel at St. Leo the Great Catholic Church in Leonville.

Following Mass, a boat procession with the Blessed Sacrament and a statue of Mary and St. Joseph will begin at the nearby boat landing. The public is invited to join in the procession and benediction to the boat landing.

At 9:30 a.m. a cannon will sound and boats will depart in procession down the bayou toward St. Martinville, which retraces the voyage made by the Acadians more than 250 years ago.

During the day-long trip down the bayou, the flotilla will stop in Arnaudville, Cecilia and Breaux Bridge before it makes its final destination to St. Martinville.

The day will end with solemn vespers and benediction of the Blessed Sacrament at Mater Dolorosa Chapel in St. Martinville at 6 p.m.

Aug. 15 is the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary as well as the 257th annivesary of the arrival of French-Canadian immigrants who brought the Catholic faith to Acadiana after being exiled from their homes.

“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.

“Those who did not were expelled from the country. They lost their lands, their homes and 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.”

The procession, which is now in its eighth year, has garnered national attention in the past and regularly attracts Catholics from all over the country who want to participate in the religious occasion that also has local cultural ties.

After arriving in St. Martinville around 4:45 p.m., a foot procession will take place from the landing spot to St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church at 5:30 p.m. for more benedictions.

For more information on Fête-Dieu du Teche or to register your boat for the procession, visit the website www.jesuscrucified.net or Fete-Dieu du Teche on Facebook.