Blessing of the Fleet
The Blessing of the Fleet is a tradition that began centuries ago in Mediterranean fishing communities. The practice began predominantly Catholic, but is now practiced by all Christians as a blessing from the local priest and pastors that is meant to ensure a safe and bountiful season.
In most ports, the event was brought by immigrants who held strongly to their Christian religious beliefs. The events that are part of the ritual vary by community and range from a simple ceremony to a multi-day festival including a church service, parades, Pageantry, dancing, feasting, and contests.
History
The tradition of blessing ships is very old and has been performed both at the launching of new vessels as well as a regular practice to ensure protection of the ship and its crew. The origin of the practice is grounded among other in Jesus' calling of the fishermen to be his apostles as well as in the miraculous catch of fish through the intervention of Jesus.The tradition of blessing boats seems to have been particularly common in the Mediterranean and blessings for boats from 15th century Italy survive. The blessing was often performed on specific days under the guardianship of different saints such as St. Peter in Gruissan in Occitanie and Birżebbuġa in Malta, St. Vito in Mazara del Vallo in Sicily or the Virgin of Carmel in various places in Spain such as Cartagena, La Savina and Ibiza. The tradition of putting the celebration under the patronage of the Virgin of Carmel in Spain was introduced by Antonio Barceló in the 18th century and therefore the celebrations often take place on the 16th of July and include an image of the Virgin being carried by one of the boats.
The practice was, however, also known in Northern Europe. Before the reformation, the priests of Yarmouth would bless the fishing ships yearly and the priests would afterwards preach a fishing sermon. In the 19th century Hebrides, additionally to blessing new vessels, every time the crew of a ship changed, a priest would go on board, speak a blessing and sprinkle the boat with Holy water. At the same time, Russian ships bound for Siberia never left the port without being blessed by a priest.
The current practice of Blessing the Fleet in the US appears to have emerged in the 20th century when the fishing industry was developing along the Gulf Coast and then spread in the decades after the World War II. The possibly first Blessing of the Fleet took place in Biloxi, Mississippi in 1929 which were then followed by blessings in La Batre, Alabama and Brunswick, Georgia in the late 1940s. In Provincetown, Massachusetts, where the custom started in 1947, the Fourth of July is typically as date and the tradition is rooted in the Portuguese communities. The first Blessing of the Fleet in Australia took place in 1935.
Ceremony
Typically, the boats are cleaned meticulously and decorated with flags before proceeding to the blessing. These vessels are then blessed with Holy Water dispensed from an aspergillum by a priest standing on an auspiciously placed boat while the other boats process by for the blessing. The Catholic Church differentiates between blessings for general boats as well as specifically for fishing boats.The date of the blessing ceremony is not fixed but most take place typically in either spring or early summer. The ceremony also offers the opportunity to remember those men and women who have died on sea and pray for a successful year of fishing.
Australia
Most states of Australia have had ports and fishing community traditions of blessing the fleet:- Port Fairy, Victoria.
- Queenscliff, Victoria.
- Stanley, Tasmania.
- Ulladulla, New South Wales.
- Fremantle, Western Australia.
United States
The tradition of the blessing of the fleet is spread along the eastern seaboard and the Great Lakes region.Gulf Coast
Annual Blessing of the Fleet festivals are held throughout communities all along the Gulf Coast; each year boats parade down local waters to receive the blessing of the priest before the opening of the shrimp season. The shrimping industry has a long history in the area and hasbecome intrinsically tied to local individual and community identities.
Brunswick
Portuguese immigrants introduced the event to their new home in Brunswick, Georgia, around the time of World War II. The blessing is held on Mother's Day to honor Our Lady of Fatima, the patron saint of Portugal, and mothers in the parish. The event begins with a morning mass and the ceremonial "May crowning" of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima, followed by a parishioners parade around Hanover Square, adjacent to the church. The procession is led by a Knights of Columbus honor guard and 8 men carrying the statue. The statue's base is decorated with ferns and fresh red and white flowers. An anchor made of red and white flowers is also placed at the statue's base.The celebration then moves to the waterfront, where shrimp trawlers, freshly painted and decorated, circle the waterfront. The "working" boats are usually matched by an equal number of recreational watercraft.
The priest from St. Francis and the Knights of Columbus honor guard board one of the boats and the priest sprinkles Holy water and blesses each boat as it passes by. During the procession, the boats are judged on their decorations, with prizes awarded to the best.
After the last boat has been blessed, the boats move up the East River to St. Simons Sound, where the flower anchor is laid upon the water in memory of the local fishermen who perished at sea.