Since 2015 the Community of Jesus Crucified has been hosting an all-day “Holy Day” Eucharistic Boat Procession for the Feast of the Assumption, Aug. 15.
This year’s Fête has great significance as it occurs during the Centennial of the Diocese of Lafayette (1918-2018). In order to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Diocese of Lafayette, the Assumption Eucharistic Boat Procession this year will be held on Bayou Vermilion.
Fête-Dieu du Vermilion will begin with Holy Mass in French at 8 a.m. at St. Mary Magdalen Church in Abbeville. The celebrant will be His Excellency Glen J. Provost, D. D., Bishop of Lake Charles. Bishop Provost is a native son of the Diocese of Lafayette and served for several years at St. Mary Magdalen. Lake Charles is the Diocese of Lafayette’s only daughter diocese, formed from the territory of the Lafayette Diocese in 1980.
At the end of Mass there will be a procession from St. Mary Magdalen Church with the Blessed Sacrament and a statue of the Assumption of Mary across the draw bridge to the old Riverfront Restaurant. At 10 a.m. 121 boats will embark (one for each of the 121 parishes of the Diocese) and process up Bayou Vermilion to Lafayette.
The boat procession will stop near the bridge in Milton at 11:35 a.m. for recitation of the Rosary and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. The flotilla will re-commence at 12:35 p.m. and continue upstream, arriving at Ruffino’s in River Ranch at 1:40 p.m. for Rosary and Benediction. The boat procession will embark once again at 2:40 p.m. and arrive at Beaver Park at about 3:20 p.m. At 3:45 p.m. a foot procession with the Blessed Sacrament and a statue of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary will leave the landing and process up University Avenue in Lafayette all the way to the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. Solemn Vespers will be prayed at 5 p.m. and Holy Mass will follow at 5:30 p.m. with Bishop Douglas Deshotel to conclude the historic day. Confessions will be heard in mobile units at each of the stops along the way.
The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (August 15) is a very important feast in the Catholic Church, but especially for the Diocese of Lafayette. It is the Feast of the Acadians who settled here in 1765. The Acadians originally sailed to Nouvelle-Écosse (Nova Scotia) under the star of Our Lady of the Assumption and again during the Grand Dérangement.
The Acadian flag, both Canadian and Louisiana Acadian, highlights the centrality of Our Lady of the Assumption for the Acadian people. The gold star on a white field represents “Our Lady of the Assumption,” Patroness of the Acadians. When the first settlers departed France for the New World, the Virgin Mary was highly revered. It was a period of great devotion to the Virgin. The King of France, Louis XIII, and Pope Pius XI declared the Virgin Mary the patroness of the kingdom (Patronne de Royaume) and Patroness Saint of all the Acadians in Canada, Louisiana and elsewhere. On August 15, 1638, France and her colonies were consecrated to Mary under the title “Our Lady of the Assumption”.
According to Fr. Michael Champagne, CJC, the organizer of the unique event, the Blessed Sacrament will be fixed on an altar on the lead boat under a canopy, with a pair of adorers in adoration between the towns visited. Another boat will carry the statue of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The Eucharistic Procession will stop and disembark at makeshift altars along the Vermilion for recitation of the Rosary and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. For those who are unable to participate by boat, all are invited to join for Mass at St. Mary Magdalen in Abbeville and then to drive and gather at any of the planned stops along the banks of Bayou Vermilion.
Those who wish to participate in the 1.8-mile foot procession from Beaver Park boat landing to the Cathedral should arrive at Vermilionville by 3 p.m. The Attakapas trail that runs beneath Evangeline Thruway is to be used to muster at the boat landing for a 3:45 p.m. departure with the Blessed Sacrament and statue of the Assumption of Mary to the Cathedral. Priests will be available at each stop for Confessions.
“To accompany our Lord in His Eucharistic Presence up the Vermilion River on the Solemnity dedicated to our Blessed Mother’s Assumption and to recall 100 years of diocesan history in Southwest Louisiana at the same time – this is a privilege that defies words,” observes Bishop Glen Provost, a native son of the Diocese of Lafayette and bishop of Lafayette’s daughter diocese, the Diocese of Lake Charles. “Let us remember that the Acadians and French who first settled in our area were Catholic, and in the case of the Acadians were expelled from Nova wScotia primarily because they were Catholic. It is our history we remember. It is our faith we celebrate. It is our Lord we adore and worship.”
Bishop Douglas Deshotel will conclude Fête-Dieu du Vermilion with the Mass of the Assumption at the Cathedral of St. John at 5:30 p.m. Concerning this unique event Bishop Deshotel notes, “This year marks my third time participating in the Assumption Boat Procession. I have been edified by the devotion and participation of so many priests, deacons, religious and lay faithful. I think such a public Eucharistic celebration is an excellent manifestation of the new evangelization that we so desperately need.”
Boat registration
To register a boat for the procession, send an email to fetedieuduteche@gmail.com or download a registration form at www.fetedieuduteche.org. Once the registration form is completed and waivers signed, either mail them to 103 Railroad Avenue, St. Martinville, 70582 or scan the completed forms and email them to the above email address as an attachment. The boat coordinator will contact you with details.
Each boat will be issued a specially designed flag to fly during the procession. The special flags will each represent one of the 121 parishes of the Diocese of Lafayette. Catholic schools are encouraged to send their students or a representative group to be present at one of the stops along the procession, but especially to participate in the final foot procession from Beaver Park to the Cathedral.
More information
For more information, visit fetedieuduteche.org or Fete-Dieu du Teche on Facebook facebook.com/CommunityofJesusCrusified, or contact Fr. Michael Champagne, CJC, by telephone at 337-394-6550 or email at fetedieuduteche@gmail.com.