Hundreds turn out for Blessing of the Waves

Religious figures from multiple faiths, along with about 400 others, took to the beach Sunday morning to give thanks for Huntington Beach’s most famous feature: its waves.

Representatives of the Jewish, Muslim, Roman Catholic and Mormon faiths all prayed for the ocean and those who swim and surf in it in the first-ever Blessing of the Waves. Organizers hope that the event, convened by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange, will be an annual blessing.

In addition to prayers from religious leaders, the event also featured prayers being burned in a ceremonial fire, a paddle-out where surfers had a ceremony in a circle on their boards, religious songs and surf music.

According to diocese spokesman Ryan Lilyengren, the blessing came one day after the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of ecology.

— Michael Alexander