Our Lady of the Rivers statue

During the flood of 1951 the Mississippi River had risen so high that it threatened Portage des Sioux for the first time in the history of the town. Father Edward B. Schlattmann, pastor of St. Francis Church, called upon his parish Legion of Mary to pray to the Blessed Virgin. After two weeks, when the flood finally crested, their community was mostly high and dry.”
In gratitude, the parish decided to erect a statue on the banks of the river, dedicated to “Our Lady of the Rivers.” In October 1957, ten thousand people attended the dedication of a 25-foot fiberglass statue of Mary mounted on a 20-foot concrete pedestal that sits at the water's edge looking across the Mississippi to the bluffs above Alton, Illinois. The annual tradition of the Blessing of the Fleet in July soon followed. Hundreds of decorated boats gather from miles around to receive a blessing from the town priest.