It happens every year, but this was not the year to miss. Or was it?
The event was the 63 annual Blessing of the Fleet in lower St. Bernard Parish. In the 1940s Father Clemens Sneider introduced this European-style tradition to the fishermen and their families in the villages of Delacroix, Yscloskey, and Hopedale. Just before the opening of the shrimp season, boats are blessed for safety and bounty.
Under normal circumstances hundreds of boats would fill the southernmost waterways of the Parish during the last weekend in July. Flag-carrying vessels overflowing with family members would join the procession to receive their blessing from Father John Arnone, pastor of the St. Bernard Catholic Church and current keeper of the tradition.
This year in Delacroix the blessing was reversed. Instead of boats joining a procession to be blessed, Father Arnone and parish president Craig Taffaro Jr. boarded a skiff and brought the blessing to the boats. Tafforo held the golden bucket of holy water while Father Arnone dipped the aspergillum into the anointed water and sprinkled it generously over the decks and docks. Boats absent are being used as vessels of opportunity in the oil spill clean up efforts, while boats present await an uncertain future depending on new mandates from the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries.
“We ask for God’s protection and for the safety of the people who are working on this disaster,” said Father Arnone. “We also want a good season. We want people to be able to catch, and we want people to be able to eat what we catch. We want to return to our way of living. Let’s hope the effects aren’t too long-lasting. All the crab nets I see today should be in the water. Let’s hope this is not a typical year.”
Amen, Father.
Penny Montblanc is a contributing writer for the Second Line.
