Blessing of the Fleet: Archbishop Rodi speaks of 'resiliency' of Gulf Coast

 BAYOU LA BATRE, Alabama -- Philip Seaman III admits that he's well-named. As a fourth generation commercial fisherman, he has made his life pulling up shrimp and oysters.
With little oystering since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and with the price of fuel for his shrimp boat skyrocketing, he faces economic challenges.
On Sunday, Seaman moored his 40-foot shrimp boat, Kimberly Ann, at the dock near St. Margaret's Catholic Church, and welcomed family and friends aboard to take part in the annual Blessing of the Fleet.
"We could all use a blessing," said Seaman's fiancée, Jacinda Sprinkle.
The Kimberly Ann was one of scores of vessels lining the Bayou La Batre waterways for the 62nd annual event, presided over by the Most Rev. Thomas J. Rodi, Archbishop of Mobile.
"We implore God's protection," Rodi prayed, "for all those who put out to sea." He prayed for economic sustenance, too. He asked that God help make their ventures "profitable," enabling the fishermen, he said, "to help their loved ones."
Some boats were bedecked with signs -- "God bless the fishermen," said one on Seaman's boat - and most had bright pennants.
"It's an old tradition," said Gilbert Castelin, owner of the shrimp boat Cassandra Cheyenne, referring to the prayers for a good catch and safe journeys.
Castelin, 70, said he has been shrimping for 50 years and brought his boat not only for the blessing but also to let his grandchildren understand the meaning of the day. He said the economic downturn of the last year was lessened, for some, by the chance to make money with BP's Vessels of Opportunity.
Now there is the hard work of shrimping and fishing ahead. Chris Jackson, 23, a third-generation shrimper, did not bring his boat but came out with his wife and two children to enjoy the community fair sponsored, in part, by St. Margaret's Catholic Church and the City of Bayou La Batre.
Jackson said that he made money with the Vessels of Opportunity, but that employment was over.
High fuel prices hitting fishermen hard
Like Seaman, he also spoke of the hardship created by high fuel prices. He said he uses 80 to 100 gallons of diesel fuel for a night of shrimping. At $3.50 a gallon, he said, the expense gets burdensome, indeed.
Jackson said he was thinking about going into a different line of work. "We need a blessing for the fuel, not just for the shrimpers," he said.
Nick Pham, 29, was at the event with about 30 other relatives, all of Vietnamese background, he said.
Picnicking with his family, he paused to say that seafood work had sustained his family as newcomers to the U.S. Now he has gone into another business but wanted to be part of the celebration of the day.
There was solemnity to the afternoon when the master of ceremonies, Roger Milne, read aloud the 30 names of fishermen from the Bayou area who had perished at sea. Then came the colorful parade of boats.
Taking his place on the bow of a U.S. Coast Guard vessel, Rodi sprinkled holy water toward the vessels that lined the bayou. The boats, in turn, threw off their lines and followed behind Rodi's boat.
Soon the bayou was filled with brightly colored boats of all sizes. After about an hour, when Rodi's boat returned to the dock, he spoke with admiration of the people of the Bayou and the entire fishing community.
He praised "the resiliency of the people of the Gulf Coast." 