|
|
|
History of the Apostleship of the Sea
 In the late 1800's, various Catholic Seamen's Missions were
in operation under various auspices, catering for the
spiritual, social and material welfare of visiting crews in
the ports of London, Bottle, Montreal, New York, New Orleans
and Melbourne.
In France, the Augustinians of the Assumption had founded
the 'Société des Oeuvres de Mer' in December, 1894, with the
object of bringing medical, material, moral and religious
assistance to French seafarers and those of other nations,
especially those engaged in the deep-sea fisheries off
Iceland, on the Newfoundland Banks and the Faroes Islands.
In addition, a formal program of ship visitation had been
inaugurated by the members of the Society of St. Vincent de
Paul in many ports in Britain in the late 1890s.
It was however, in the port of Glasgow, that Father Egger sj,
launched the first branch of the Apostleship of the Sea
under the auspices of the Apostleship of Prayer Society. It
is recorded that during the first eight years it functioned
(1899-1907), over 200,000 seafarers were admitted into the
Apostleship of the Sea.
Father Egger sj together with Arthur Gannon and Peter
Anson, who continued to be the inspiration of this
internationally orientated ship visiting group, submitted the framework and constitutions of this young
movement to the Holy See for formal approval. Approval was
in fact readily given by letter of Cardinal Gasparri,
Secretary of State, dated April 22, 1922. It conveyed the
"approval and encouragement" of the Holy Father, Pope Pius
XI.
. . . with the certain knowledge that so noble an
enterprise, ably seconded by the zeal of priestly souls both
secular and regular, will spread more and more along the
shores of both hemispheres....
These words did in fact prove prophetic for, what began
as a voluntary lay movement of zealous souls, did evolve in
a few short years into a world-wide pastoral and welfare
organisation with, at the end of World War II, 80 centres
functioning and an international council already established
in Rome under the care of the Sacred Consistorial
Congregation. The final seal of approval came with the
granting to the Apostleship of the Sea and approval by the
Holy See of its Laws and Constitutions on November 21, 1957.
Apostolatus Maris - the work of the Church.
It is necessary to emphasise that Apostolatus Maris, the
Apostleship of the Sea, since 1970 has been under the
supreme direction of the Vatican through the Pontifical
Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrant and Itinerant
People. It is not merely another organisation within the
Catholic Church. It is, by its approved Norms and
Constitution, an integral part of the pastoral structure of
the Universal Church. Nevertheless, its practical
implementation however, is the clear responsibility of the
local Church, as clearly set out in the II Vatican Council
Decree "Christus Dominus", on the Pastoral Office of
Bishops, No. 18:
Special concern should be shown for those members of the
faithful who, on account of their way of life, are not
adequately catered for by the ordinary pastoral ministry of
the parochial clergy or are entirely deprived of it. These
include the many migrants, exiles and refugees, seafarers
and airmen, nomads and others of this kind.
The Apostleship of
the Sea is, in many respects, very much an evolving entity
which, apart from fundamental principles, will respond to the local pastoral needs of maritime people as
experienced in any particular place and time. It also
takes into account the ever changing circumstances of the
on-board life of the seafarer and indeed the fundamental
ways in which those conditions of life and work affect the
seafarer's own family situation, be he fisherman or merchant
seafarer.
Missionary Work.
It is not an accident that seafarers centres in ports
world wide have traditionally been referred to as Seamen's
Missions. Despite the fact that in those far off days, the
percentage of foreigners among seafarers in any port would
be fewer by far than now, the missionary dimension of the
maritime ministry was not overlooked.
Apostleship of the Sea often works in ecumenical
cooperation with other Christian organisation which share
the same ideals of justice, solidarity and fraternity, in
the gospel of Jesus Christ. Apostleship of the Sea in 1968
was a founding-member of the ecumenical International
Christian Maritime Association (ICMA) which today brings
together over 20 member-organisations caring for the people
of the sea.
The results of the 1987 ICMA sponsored Seafarers' Survey
confirm that a considerable percentage of the seafarers
coming into our ports are non Christians, many of whom are
open to hearing the Good News, perhaps for the first time.
Local Church
The practical implementation of pastoral care to
seafarers & fishermen, and to their families in any region,
diocese or port, is the clear responsibility of the local
Church. To ensure that this happens, the Norms of the
Apostleship of the Sea provide for the appointment at the
level of Episcopal Conferences, a special Commission, or at
least a Bishop Promoter, to supervise, foster and promote
the Apostleship of the Sea. Today many centre use the name
Stella Maris Seafarers' Centre, a title given to Our Lady,
Star of the Sea, our patron.
Most countries host an annual conference bringing
together those who work and care for seafarers & fishers.
The Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and
Itinerant People organises and conducts a world congress
every five years. This ensures continuity of the work
between countries and dissemination of the Pontifical
Council's policies.
Photograph: The tug boat Queenscliff in the Yarra River turning basin
Melbourne Australia 1905
|
|
|
The
centrepiece of the Apostolatus Maris logo is the Sacred
Heart of Jesus. Rays radiate from the heart – symbols of the
apostles who take his love to seafarers.
The words Apostolatus Maris are written in the life buoy,
which connotes the saving work of the Apostolate while in
the background is an anchor, symbol of hope and salvation
for a ship in troubled waters. |
|