Every year churches around the world celebrate Sea Sunday. It’s a day for people to come together to pray for seafarers and fishers, and thank them for the vital role they play in all of our lives.
The number of crews abandoned by their employers is still at a record high. Many are still being denied the right to leave their ships for even a short break away from the relentless noise and pressure onboard.
Many are reporting more stress and poorer mental health
Stella Maris is an International Maritime charity supporting seafarers, fishers, and their families in the UK and around the world. It is the largest ship-visiting network in the world, and the official maritime charity of the Catholic Church.
When seafarers and fishers arrive in a foreign port, they are strangers, often thousands of miles from home. They often have to work away from their families and local communities for nine to 12 months at a time. Across the world, Stella Maris aims to provide a ‘friend in every port’ and stand alongside seafarers and fishers to ensure their rights are upheld. For 100 years Stella Maris has been extending the hand of friendship and welcoming seafarers and fishers to our shores.
Stella Maris’ chaplains and volunteer ship visitors welcome them, listen to their concerns, and help provide what they need. Stella Maris’ chaplains and volunteer ship visitors answer Jesus’ call to give hospitality to the stranger
The network of chaplains and volunteers makes more than 70,000 ship visits each year and supports hundreds of thousands of seafarers and fishermen in times of need.
Message from Cardinal Michael Czerny of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development on the occasion of Sea Sunday 2024
You can donate to Stella Maris in the collection at the 5pm Saturday Vigil Mass or the 9.30am Sunday Mass by visiting www.stellamaris.org.uk/donate. This collection is vital to enable Stella Maris to continue its important work, so please give generously. Thank you.