BATON ROUGE, La. — The ordinary met the divine as the Blessed Sacrament was processed through the Baton Rouge streets Aug. 14 as part of the kickoff of the 10th-annual Fête-Dieu du Teche (“Feast of God on the Teche”) — a grand by-water-and-by-land extravaganza of prayer coinciding with the Solemnity of the Assumption.

Historically, the Eucharistic procession flotilla takes place on the bayous of southern Louisiana. This year’s procession, however, is along the Mississippi River, planned to coincide with the National Eucharistic Revival, as “a one-time historic route on the mighty river to bless the river and the state of Louisiana,” Father Michael Champagne, organizer of the event, told the Register. “We desire to thank God for the great state of Louisiana and its mighty river, and we desire to beg God’s blessing as we embark on our future journey toward him.”

The Mississippi River is an important backdrop to the commerce of the United States but is a particular source of sustenance to the local economies that lie along the 2,300 miles of its riverbanks. Though no stranger to ships transporting all manner of freight, on the feast of St. Maximilian Kolbe, the Fête-Dieu du Mississippi embarked upon a sacred journey from the state capital: a 130-mile, two-day procession — en route to the final destination of New Orleans on Aug. 15 — carrying the most precious of cargos: the Blessed Sacrament. 

As is the tradition of the fête, a parade of all manner of ships, from steamboat to tug, accompanied the vessel bearing the Sustenance of eternal life to shore for land-based processions and prayers along the way to the final destination on the Marian solemnity: the Crescent City. 

The fête began at St. Joseph Cathedral with the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Baton Rouge Bishop Michael Duca concelebrated with Lafayette Bishop J. Douglas Deshotel and Father Champagne, the Fête-Dieu du Teche’s organizer, along with an endless sea of fellow priest concelebrants and altar servers. 

Filling the air of the cathedral were the sounds of a beautiful sacred liturgy as the cathedral was bursting at the seams with faithful. 

In the homily, Bishop Duca spoke of St. Maximilian Kolbe and how he and other imprisoned priests were able to say Mass while in prison with just scraps of bread or drops of wine.

“There’s never been so great an offering of a gift in all of time,” the bishop emphasized of the Eucharist.

“Let us reflect on how we receive the Lord.”

He continued, “As we take the Lord into the streets now, we offer that light to all who can see we offer that Light of Christ to shine upon them to open their hearts” as people “see how we believe,” for “we have that one hope that cannot be taken away from us.”

During the following procession through the capital’s streets, flower girls strew petals as streams of Catholics and non-Catholics welcomed the Lord — in a towering 14-foot monstrance constructed for the occasion — with loving hospitality while imploring his grace and blessings upon the aching world. 

 

A multitude of participants followed close behind, adoring with song and prayer while processing the Lord through the streets to the water’s edge — the launching point of the waterway portion of the two-day trek that embarked after the Baton Rouge festivities, with several stops the same day, concluding with all-night adoration.

The Baton Rouge portion of the event continued after the procession with the striking use of “Friar Truck” (an old fire truck fitted with an ambo for preaching) and “Mercy Mobiles” (ambulances fitted to serve as mobile confessionals), which is an unmistakable sign of the ministry of Father Champagne. Father Josh Johnson, pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church in Baton Rouge and diocesan vocations director, preached from the unique perch resembling a modern-day stylite. 

 

Interwoven into the morning were countless reminders of God’s providence. On the eve of the Assumption, the Marian imagery of a ship carrying Our Lord along a river, once referred to as the “River of the Immaculate Conception,” is one difficult to overlook. 

I was fortunate enough to run into my pastor, Father Aaron Williams, the rector of St. Mary’s Basilica in Natchez, Mississippi, who commented about the significance of the procession moving over the pelican-adorned manhole covers in the Baton Rouge streets. Pelicans have long been a symbol of Christ’s Eucharistic sacrifice, and the long-billed bird is on Louisiana’s seal and adorns its flag: a touching reminder of the state’s deep Catholic roots. It was a day teeming with gestures that God is always in our midst and sorts out even the smallest of details to illustrate his love.

 

Indeed, the fête’s launch showcased the beauty of the faith that unites us and the river that connects us as we bring Christ in the Blessed Sacrament to creation.