All-day Eucharistic Procession to be held down Bayou Teche

LSN Newspapers

August 15 is a very special day in Acadiana.
For those in the Roman Catholic Church, it is the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and for this same reason it is also a day which should resonate within the hearts of all those who embrace their Acadian heritage.
“The Assumption is the Feast of the Acadians,” says Fr. Michael Champagne, CJC, native son of the Diocese of Lafayette. “They sailed under the Acadian flag, which has the star representing Our Lady of the Assumption.”
“His Holiness, Pope Pius XI, declared Our Lady of the Assumption the Patroness of the Acadian peoples,” adds Bishop Glen John Provost, another native son of the Lafayette Diocese and current Bishop of the Diocese of Lake Charles. “Bishop Jeanmard [first bishop of the Diocese of Lafayette] recognized this special relationship between our Blessed Mother and the people of the Acadian exile. For a descendant of an Acadian to forget his or her roots and the witness to the Catholic faith of these people is a tragedy. Perhaps Mary can remind us of what some have forgotten, as well as what many faithfully remember.”
Taking action to uphold the recognition of that connection which Bishop Jeanmard so deeply respected, Bishop Michael Jarrell has approved plans for an all-day Eucharistic Procession down the Bayou Teche on Saturday, August 15, 2015. The procession will help to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the arrival of the Acadians by tracing the same waterway they used to travel to St. Martinville where they established their first settlement in this area.
“Traveling down the Teche is highly symbolic, because it replicates what our ancestors did,” observes Bishop Provost. “The Jewish people never forget their deliverance from Egypt and their arrival in the Promised Land. Acadians should never forget their passage from exile to a new home.”
Bishop Provost will take part by celebrating the Mass of the Assumption at St. Leo the Great Church in Leonville at 8:00 a.m. that morning to begin the day.
“To be invited to officiate this 250th anniversary of the arrival of the Acadians to our area is very special indeed, and for me a great privilege,” says Bishop Provost. “All of my ancestors either came directly from France or were part of this Acadian exile in the 18th century, and I am delighted to give recognition to their faith, sacrifice, and perseverance in time of struggle and suffering.”
“After Mass, we will process with the Blessed Sacrament with a special monstrance built for the occasion to the Leonville boat landing and embark in a boat procession down the Teche toward St. Martinville,” explains Fr. Champagne, who has aided in the planning of this 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. We will stop at the Catholic churches along the way for recitation of the rosary and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament for those gathered at Arnaudville, Cecilia, Breaux Bridge, and Parks.
“The boat procession will arrive at the Evangeline Oak in St. Martinville at about 4:45 p.m.,” Fr. Champagne speculates. “We will then disembark and process into St. Martin de Tours Church for Benediction. The procession will continue down Main Street to Mater Dolorosa Chapel for the celebration of Solemn Vespers of the Assumption and Final Benediction at 6:00 p.m.”
“People should attend, especially descendants of the Acadian exiles, because they love their history, their family, their culture, and most importantly, their faith,” urges Bishop Provost.
“Acadians understand the importance of religious faith, family, tradition, and roots. No sports game, no television program, no yard work, and no idle pre-occupation is as important.”
“We are hoping to gather several hundred Catholics at each of the stops along the way, as well as at the beginning in Leonville and at the final destination in St. Martinville,” expresses Fr. Champagne. “We would also like to register up to 100 boats in the procession, and people living along the bayou are encouraged to gather on the bayou bank and greet the Blessed Sacrament as it passes by.”
To register a boat for the procession, send an email to fetedieuduteche@gmail.com.
Once the email is received, the registrant will be sent a registration packet with further details.
Boats may represent families, church parishes, Cursillo groups, Knights of Columbus or Knights of Peter Claver councils, or any other religious groups or communities. Participants are also encouraged to identify themselves by designing and displaying a special banner or other type of decoration on their boat during the procession, as an expression of their Catholic faith and Acadian heritage.
“It is said that Bishop Jeanmard wept every time he spoke of our Blessed Mother,” recalls Bishop Provost. “Who of us did not grow up praying the rosary? Statues of Mary dot our landscape. Marian devotions are frequent in our churches. Mary has always reminded Catholics, especially the Acadian people, of a mother’s care. She is a symbol par excellence of
the tender mercy of God. She always points us to Jesus, her Son. How can we forget this?”