BATON ROUGE— A 14-foot monstrance holding the Eucharist is the highlight of a multi-boat procession along the 130-mile stretch from Baton Rouge to New Orleans which starts this Wednesday. 

The Fête-Dieu du Mississippi or "festival of God on the Mississippi River" will be the first recorded instance of any Louisiana Catholic group blessing the Mississippi River. The procession usually takes place along Bayou Teche to mark the Catholic Feast Day of the Assumption of Mary. 

Organizers say they moved this year's event to the Mississippi as part of the ongoing National Eucharistic Revival within the Catholic Church.

The procession will include six stops: Plaquemine, Donaldsonville, Convent, Reserve, and Luling. Prayer services and the sacrament of Reconciliation offered at each location.

St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church in Convent, Louisiana is one of the stops. Eucharistic Adoration will be held there from Wednesday night through Thursday morning. 

Father Vincent Dufresne, Pastor of St. Michael's Church, says his parishioners are thrilled to be part of the procession.

"Saint Michael Parish is about half way from Baton Rouge and New Orleans, and we actually get to welcome the host, the presence of Jesus with the monstrance with our church. We've been living here, working here, and enjoying generations of blessing from God.. nothing like this has ever been done anywhere," Dufresne said.

Many religious statues and relics will be brought to the procession, including two statues donated to Notre Dame Seminary by the late Father Mark Beard.  

The event will begin with a Mass at St. Joseph Cathedral in Downtown Baton Rouge offered by Bishop Michael Duca. The Eucharist will be processed to the Mississippi River after Mass. The procession will conclude with a Mass of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in New Orleans on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. 

For more information on this event, the visit the website below:

https://www.fetedieuduteche.org/fete-dieu-du-mississippi