The 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 (AOS) 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. With the
transfer of a key member of this group
overseas, Brother Daniel Shields sj, the
work lapsed and did not resume until his
return from South Africa in 1920. Together
with Arthur Gannon and Peter F. Anson, who
continued to be the inspiration of this
internationally orientated ship visiting
group, they 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....
|
|
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. |
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 emphasize 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.
It is to be borne in mind also that the
Apostleship of the Sea is in many respects
very much an evolving entity which, apart
from fundamental principles, will tend to
respond to the local pastoral needs of
maritime people as experienced in any
particular place and time. It must also take
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.
|
