Spirit In Bay Of The Holy Spirit

Returning from an eight day Christmas cruise to the Bahamas, the passenger ship Carnival Spirit passes Gaillard Island on its way into the port of Mobile the morning of DEC 28th 2025. Mobile Bay was once known as the Bay of the Holy Spirit. Alonso Alvarez de Pineda, a Spanish explorer who sailed into the Bay in 1519, was so struck by the abundance of fish and wildlife that he gave the waters its spiritual name. Pineda believed that the richness of life he saw around him was evidence of God’s presence in the New World. Other Spanish explorers gave similar names to locations they discovered. Hernando de Soto gave the name “Rio de la Espiritu Santo” (River of the Holy Spirit) to the Mississippi River. Religious names were also given to the same areas by Indian tribes who inhabited the regions even earlier.

Photo shot from Magnolia Park in Fairhope, about 6.5 miles away…