By Venzy Viegas
Kolkata, Augt 10, 2020: Stella Maris-India (Apostleship of the Sea) has launched its Website and social media services for seafarers.
The new Website — https://www.aosindiastellamaris.com — is aligned with a video message of Pope Francis containing his prayer intention released for August.
The Pope invited prayers for those “who work and live from the sea, among them sailors, fishermen and their families.”
The Apostleship of the Sea is part of an international network known to the maritime world as Stella Maris.
Catholic seafarers and fishermen in India can now connect even more deeply to their faith as the Apostleship of the Sea (AOS) India has redesigned its services to launch many new services and programs.
The new the website was inaugurated August 1 in a video conference by the promoter of the ‘Stella Maris-India’ Bishop Alex Vadakkumthala of Kannur, chairman, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of India Office for Labour.
During the virtual conference the prelate urged the port chaplains that seafarers, fishermen and their families are to be taken care of as it is the Catholic Church’s mission to the seafarers and the fishermen.
“The mission of the church is to include everyone working in the sea irrespective of the religion along with the spiritual care to the Catholics,” said Bishop Vadakkumthala.
COVID–19 pandemic has increased the hardship of the seafarers and the unavailability of the data of Indian seafarers is a stumbling block.
“We have taken up the cause of knowing our seafarers and fishermen by starting an online membership,” he said.
The prelate urged all seafarers and fishermen to be part of Stella Maris-India family.
Pilar Father Roque Noronha, the national director of Stella Maris-India, spoke on the occasion of the launch of the Website saying, “Pope Francis as leader of the Catholic Church has at a very appropriate time requested the universal church to pray for our seafarers.”
Father Noronha requested all the clergy involved in the mission for an extra mile for them both in their spiritual as well as material needs.
The virtual conference observed the report of ‘The Blue Growth Media’ that some 3 billion people in the world depend on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihood.
Around 200 million people are directly or indirectly employed by the fishing industry. The market value of marine and coastal biodiversity accounts for some 5 per cent of the world’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product).
At this e-world era, it is the need of the hour to connect with those who work in the sea and Stella Maris-India has finally accomplished it, said Father Noronha.
Father Dominic Carvalho, Chaplain of Goa Port, is the mastermind behind this web portal.