Stella Maris’ pastoral care for sailors

Stella Maris is the missionary arm of the Catholic Church. It helps people who live or work on the water, especially sailors on fishing, industrial, or military ships.

In 1958, Cardinal Rufino Santos introduced Stella Maris to the attention of the Archdiocese of Manila.

Stella Maris Philippines plans National Seafarers' Day (NSD) events with assistance from both the public and private sectors.

Proclamations Nos. 828 and 1094 from the late President Fidel V. Ramos say that NSD is celebrated every year on the last Sunday of September.

One of its goals is to recognize the important role Filipino sailors have played in making the country a marine one.

Stella Maris Philippines ensures that the public and private sectors work together for the welfare of seafarers.

Four Stella Maris schools are in Luzon, in the provinces of Manila, Batangas, Pangasinan, and La Union. Five are in Visayas, in the provinces of Cebu, Bohol, Iloilo, and Leyte, and five are in Mindanao, in the provinces of Basilan, Cagayan de Oro, Davao, General Santos City, and Iligan.

Every year on the NSD, Catholics pray for the safety of sailors' trips and hold Masses and novenas. Putting down wreaths and throwing flowers are also ways to remember sailors, fishermen, and people who have died or gone missing at sea.

September 28, 2023, was the 28th NSD. Its theme was "Filipino Seafarers: Protecting the Ocean" (Filipino Seafarers: Caring for the Ocean).

The Philippines had about 489,852 sailors working at sea in 2022, and they sent back about $6,715,880,000. At least 22% of the money that overseas Filipino workers earn goes back to their families who work in jobs that are based at sea.

Before it was Stella Maris, it was known as the Apostleship of the Sea (AOS). It was started in Glasgow, Scotland, on October 4, 1920.

The Stella Maris staff not only greets and makes people feel welcome when they visit ships, but they also help sailors who are having problems, like when they are working in unsafe or unfair conditions or when they are alone on the ship for long periods.

Stella Maris centres are in more than 300 ports in 41 countries. They have more than 230 priests and thousands of other people who help them. Ships can get help at these sites.

In 2012, Pope Benedict XVI spoke at the 23rd World Congress of the Church at the Vatican. He said, "Today, the church sails across the seas to bring the gospel to all nations. In cities around the world, you are present and visit ships every day. You greet the crews with a friendly greeting while the ships are in port, which shows that you care about people who can't get normal pastoral care.

Stella Maris was one of the first members to join the International Christian Maritime Association (ICMA) in 1969. The ICMA wants to get missionaries who work with sailors to help and work with each other.

It is free to join ICMA, which is made up of 29 nonprofits that help sailors, fishermen, and their families.

They work with more than 400 centres for seafarers in more than 100 countries. The centers are made up of different Christian churches and towns.

ICMA's goal is to fight for peace, unity, and acceptance. Also, it is the job of every chaplain, ship visitor, worker, and person who works to improve the lives of seafarers to help everyone, no matter their race, religion, culture, gender, or country of origin.

Pope Francis said at the 2019 ICMA conference in Taiwan that port welfare workers should "strive to see that the people of the sea are provided abundantly with whatever is required to lead holy lives; to recognize and promote the mission which all the faithful—and in particular the laity—are called to exercise in the Church and the maritime world by Pope St. John Paul II's 1997 Apostolic Letter Stella Maris on the maritime apostolate."

He told the people who work in the ports and help people that they need to "help the people of the sea to know Jesus Christ and to live according to His teachings."

That's when AOS changed its name to "Stella Maris," which is the Latin name for its patroness, the Star of the Sea, and the name of most other Catholic schools for sailors.

Sailors' faith is the most powerful thing that helps them deal with tough challenges or even dangerous events at sea. They anchor their lives with their faith in God.

Religion helps sailors deal with the hard and dangerous work they do. As they work and hang out with each other on the ship, it gives them strength, hope, and peace.