"We gather in this spot, in faith, to pray to God for His protection as we approach Hurricane Season this year,” said Bishop Parkes to reporters who covered the event.

The blessing took place at Jungle Prada de Narváez Park, a waterfront park in St. Petersburg. This is a special place for Catholics because it’s where the first Mass was celebrated in Florida in 1528.

As many of our neighbors still struggle to recover from last year’s hurricanes, Bishop Parkes offers this message of hope:

“Our faith teaches that we should always have hope, that even amidst the tragedies, difficulties, and adversities of life. God is always with us. He walks with us, and He is the source of our hope and our peace,” said Bishop Parkes.

Bishop Parkes encourages continual prayer throughout Hurricane Season:

“I ask all the people in our area, people of faith, people of goodwill, to pray for your neighbors, to pray for our beautiful communities here in the Bay Area.” View the video of the prayer and blessing below. Here is the prayer that Bishop Parkes shared before the blessing.

"We turn to you, O loving Father. Spare us from past tragedies whose memories are still so vivid, and whose wounds seem to refuse to heal with the passing of time. Blessed Mother, Star of the Sea, we ask you to intercede with your Son on our behalf, so that spared from the storms common to this area and animated with a true spirit of gratitude, we will walk in the footsteps of your Divine Son to reach the heavenly Jerusalem, where a stormless eternity awaits us. We ask this through Christ Our Lord. #Amen."

(Adapted from a prayer by Bishop Maurice Schexnayder, Second Bishop of Lafayette, following Hurricane Audrey in 1957.)