Bishop Douglas Deshotel of the Diocese of Lafayette said a special Mass dedicated to local military veterans Thursday afternoon in the mausoleum of Holy Family Cemetery in New Iberia.

The small event was attended by local members of the Iberia Veterans Association, Parish President Larry Richard and devout Catholics in the area who said Mass while holding small American flags, surrounded by the graves and tombs of former residents.

Deshotel said he was thankful for the opportunity to say Mass in honor of veterans locally and across the country, and hoped it would pass down the importance of honoring veterans to the next generation.

Holy Family Cemetery is located on Curtis Lane in New Iberia and managed by St. Peter’s Catholic Church. The cemetery contains a mausoleum as well as regular graves for funerals.

Deshotel thanked those in attendance for extending the invitation to him to say the Mass, and said that Veteran’s Day was a time to honor men and women who served honorably and gave themselves up for their fellow Americans.

“We honor those who have made the ultimate sacrifice of their own lives, those who served and are now deceased and those who served who are still alive,” he said.

Deshotel said Veterans Day reminds us of the importance of thinking outside of ourselves and thinking of the good of others “which many of our veterans have done over the years.”

“They’ve made the sacrifice of their lives for others,” he said. “And as Holy Scripture says there’s no greater love than to lay down our lives for others.”

Veterans Day also fell on the feast day of St. Martin de Tours, for whom both St. Martin Parish and St. Martin de Tours Catholic Church are named in the Teche Area.

Deshotel expounded on the saint’s history as a soldier in the Roman army and his eventual conversion to the Christian faith as an example for all Christians.

“He became a Christian, he became a priest and later the bishop of Tours,” Deshotel said. “We learn from him this great virtue that is the center of our Christian faith, that of self-sacrifice and giving for the good of others.”

A large slate of activities were held throughout Acadiana Thursday in honor of the Veteran’s Day holiday, including a Veteran’s Ceremony in Bouligny Plaza put on by the Iberia Veterans Association.

Events were held in Morgan City, Lafayette, Opelousas and Patterson Thursday as well for the Veterans Day holiday.