St. Joseph Church - Chauvin, LA - American Guide Series on Waymarking.com

St. Joseph's Church, 14.7m., is a white frame building with a bell tower and a short steeple, where the Blessing of the Shrimp Fleet, a ceremony brought from France a century and a half ago, takes place annually. Although observed for many years in Louisiana, it was for some time forgotten, but revived about 1922. The event takes place in early August, and launches the shrimping season. The celebration is a gala occasion, with the Archbishop of New Orleans officiating. More than 200 freshly painted and polished fishing boats are lined up along the bayou, their crews aboard in holiday attire, to receive the Blessing.
The Fleets' shrimping and fishing grounds include Lake Barre', Lake Pelto and the open Gulf itself. Working in groups of a dozen or so, luggers, or trawlers, drag conical nets through the water, with faster ice boats standing by to rush the daily catch to canning factories or to the New Orleans market. Some shrimpers- usually those working independently, without boats powerful enough to trawl, use old fashioned seines in shallow water...Louisiana A Guide to the State. Tour 1d, pg 423. 1945 edition.

It is obvious that the church listed in this 1945 Guide was or has been destroyed, moved or torn down and this "new" brick church (ca. 1966) has been built in its place. The Fleet blessing is still an annual gala event, although I know they now either perfom it in April, or they hold 2 Ceremonies, one in April and one in August. Trawling as described is still the way to catch shrimp, although the boats now carry their own ice and/or ice making equipment.

Book: Louisiana Page Number(s) of Excerpt: 423 Year Originally Published: 1945

Visit Instructions:
To log a Visit, please supply an original image of the Waymark.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.