This festive Mardi Gras experience is your chance to kick up your heels before the somber season of Lent.

This is like no other Mass you have ever been to! There will be costumes and masks, beads will fly, and there will be dancing in the aisles. (Feel free to dress up yourself, though it is certainly not necessary.)

Following Mass, join us for a reception in the Great Hall! You will enjoy Cajun food stations, music and theme drinks. The menu will include Chicken jambalaya, jalapeno cornbread, red beans and rice, and shrimp poboys! (Kids will have their own kid-friendly menu).

Tickets to the reception are $20 per person (kids 12 and under are free). Purchase tickets below (they must be purchased in advance, and they will sell out!)
Why a Zydeco Mass?

In the Christian tradition, the day before Ash Wednesday–which marks the beginning of Lent–is called Mardi Gras (French for “Fat Tuesday” and also known as Carnival and Shrove Tuesday). Traditionally, rich foods such as eggs, meat, oils and butter were prohibited during Lent, so Mardi Gras was the day for eating up the last of the rich foods and for having a big celebration before a long period of discipline and repentance.

As for Zydeco music, most people know Mardi Gras as a time of wild celebration in New Orleans–and Zydeco is the music of Louisiana. It is a syncopated sound that blends African rhythms with blues, rock, and swing straight from the Bayou Country. The music is lively, infectious, and spirit filled. The words in French speak of tragedy, survival, and joy. Cajun music is about life, love, loss, home, family, death, and a fate worse than death–a life without love.