Bastille Day Mass Celebration

The L’Assemblée Française (French Assembly of Baton Rouge) will join St. Joseph Cathedral, 401 Main Street downtown, in hosting a special celebration of the Eucharist at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, July 14, marked worldwide as Bastille Day. Scheduled to preside is the Rev. Jason Vidrine, Curé , pastor of St. Martin de Tours Parish in Ville Platte in the Diocese of Lafayette. The Mass honors the city’s cultural heritage and close association with its earliest French connections. A display of historical artifacts visually reflecting the French influence in local church history – including sacramental registers from early parishes, a chalice from St. Joseph Church (now Cathedral) used by missionary priests, a clergy Mass kit used by traveling priests in rural areas where there were no churches, and other items – will be set in the cathedral for public viewing, courtesy of the Archives Department of the Diocese of Baton Rouge. A concert of French organ music beginning at 10 a.m. will precede the Mass. The Magnolia Strings quartet will participate, and the Cathedral Choir will sing parts of the Mass in French. For more information, call the Cathedral Office at 225-387-5928 or email [email protected].