BILOXI, Miss. (WLOX) - For nearly a century, the Blessing of the Fleet has promoted a safe and prosperous shrimping season.
In fact, St. Michael Catholic Church, which hosts the ceremony, is known as the “Church of the Fisherman.”
The 2024 Shrimp King and Queen joined Monsignor Dominick Fullam on the blessing boat this Sunday. They were sure to help honor the long-standing tradition.
“I’m just really looking forward to getting to support my heritage, and I’m so grateful and just thrilled to have this experience,” says Shrimp Queen Baylie Gollott-Ho.
Gollott-Ho hails from 5 generations of seafood extraordinaires. Shrimp King Van Pham is still working as a shrimper and has been for more than 40 years.
ADVERTISEMENT
“So, we’re trying to get to the working captains today. Like King Van. King Van’s working, and he took the weekend off from shrimping to be the Shrimp King,” says Michael Kovacevich, a member of the Blessing of the Fleet committee.
“In the year 2022, I [brought] this boat out for the blessing boat, and this is the second time, I’m very happy that I’m a shrimp king on my boat,” Pham says.
Before the boats were sprinkled with holy water by the Monsignor, the Harrison County Sheriff’s Office helped with the wreath dropping.
“The wreath is dropped to honor the deceased fisherman that lost their lives at sea. It’s a symbol of them and to honor them,” Kovacevich explains.
For more than an hour, decorated boats paraded past the blessing boat. This includes shrimping and recreational boats.
ADVERTISEMENT
“He’ll bless anybody. Jet skis and whatever you know. It’s not a bad thing to bless somebody,” Kovacevich says.
Shrimp King and Queen both say they were honored to be a part of something so sacred to the community.
Fleets participating in the procession competed to see who had the best-decorated boat.
See a spelling or grammar error in this story? Report it to our team HERE.
Copyright 2024 WLOX. All rights reserved.