Blessing of the Fleets

Save the Date!
Saturday, April 4, 2009

The Ceremonial Guard charges the U.S. Navy Memorial fountains to life with water from the Seven Seas and Great Lakes in the Blessing of the Fleets ceremony held April 12, 2008.

Watch CNN coverage of the 2008 Blessing of the Fleets (CNN promo)

Listen to the Tony Kornheiser Show discuss the Blessing of the Fleets ( TKS promo)

Read the press release for details

What happened at the 2008 Blessing of the Fleets?

" Blessing of the Fleets” ceremony by Ceremonial Guard 

Remarks by Vice Adm. Adam M. Robinson, Jr. (MC, USN) Surgeon General of the U.S. Navy and Chief of the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery

Navy bean soup served to visitors by White House Mess

Music by the Navy Band’s country music group, Country Current

Unveiling of new exhibit “Navy Medicine: Saving Lives on Land and Sea”

Interactive displays of a Humvee ambulance, rigid-hull inflatable boat, and medical supplies

Live concert by the Chartiers Valley Showband from Bridgeville, Pennsylvania

What is the Blessing of the Fleets?
Passed down through generations of sailors, fishermen, merchant mariners and navies around the world, the centuries-old “Blessing of the Fleets” ceremony is intended to safeguard fishing crews and ships from the danger of the seas through a traditional blessing given by a clergyman at the water’s edge. 

As a tribute to our nation’s rich maritime heritage and the men and women who have contributed to its growth and success, the United States Navy Memorial hosts its annual Blessing of the Fleets ceremony each spring.  The event is free and open to the public and is an official event of the National Cherry Blossom Festival.

At the United States Navy Memorial, the ceremony’s highlight occurs when Sailors from the U.S. Navy’s Ceremonial Guard proceed across the Memorial Plaza’s “Granite Sea” to pour water from the Seven Seas and the Great Lakes into the surrounding fountains, “charging” them to life and ushering in the spring season. 

Below is the Navy Bean Soup recipe, by popular demand!

Do you want to volunteer at the Blessing of the Fleets ceremony?! Contact Page Harrington at pharrington@navymemorial.org to volunteer your services!