Africa-Press – Seychelles. Every year, on the second Sunday of July, Catholic communities celebrate ‘Sea Sunday’, an international day of prayer for seafarers and their families, but also for those who support them in the Church. , like the chaplains and volunteers of the Apostleship of the Sea, the work by which workers at sea have been spiritually assisted since 1920.
In Seychelles, the district authority of Bel Ombre in collaboration with the Apostolate of the Sea organized a special mass “La Fet Bann Peser”.
The mass celebrated at St Roch de Bel Ombre church was presided over by Father Edwin Mathiot and Father John. The church was crowded with sailors/fishermen and their families as well as the Designated Minister Jean-François Ferrari, some members of the National Assembly among others.
During the mass, the focus was on Matthew 13:1-23. “When a man listens to the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and takes away what has been sown in his heart: this man is the one who received the seed along the way. He who received seed in stony places is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; but it has no roots in itself, it lacks persistence, and as soon as tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, it finds there an opportunity to fall. He who received the seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, but in whom the cares of the age and the seduction of riches stifle this word, and make it fruitless. He who received the seed in the good ground , it is he who hears the word and understands it; it bears fruit, and one grain yields a hundred, another sixty, another thirty”.
There was a special thought for all these men and women of the sea who left us. The opening song at the end of the mass was of course “I am sailing”.
After the mass, all the sailors/fishermen were invited by the Bel Ombre District Administration for a short session on Safety at sea by Gérard Ernesta.“I was a sailor on EU boats and at the moment I am working with the Seychelles Fisheries Authority. I am also a member of the Association des Pêcheurs à Glacis. I was asked to do a short session on the safety equipment used at sea. Often our fishermen are not up to date with the equipment and they can put themselves in danger,” said Mr. Ernesta.
Mrs. Tahiri Laurencine, the District Administrator of Bel Ombre notes that the mass and the training were jointly organized by the Apostolate of the Sea and the parish and the fishermen. “Bel Ombre is a fishing community and with this activity we highlight our men and women who sacrifice themselves every day for us,” Ms. Laurencine shared.
Mr. Albert Napier, director of the Apostolate of the Sea Seychelles adds that his association takes care of sailors in relation to their salary, their working conditions, lack of safety on the boats. “There are a lot of seafarers who are mistreated by their employers and that is where we come in. In the past, there have been cases that have been taken to court and sailors have won their cases. We organize such activities three times a year and from this year we will resume all these activities,” Napier said.
Officially instituted since 1975, “Sea Sunday” is an opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of the work accomplished by seafarers, who today number more than one million.
Through their work on ships transporting goods around the world, they make possible, often invisibly, our daily lives and support the economy, as H.E. Card has pointed out. Michael Czerny, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, in his message on the occasion of this day.
The message recalls the presence of the Apostles on the great ships that crisscrossed the Mediterranean and their sharing of the Gospel with the people of the sea. This reminder of the origins encourages each community to remember all the sailors forced to be far from their loved ones and their church, without access to the Eucharist.
This is why the “pastoral ministry of the sea” plays an essential role in reaching these brothers, listening to them, accompanying them, supporting their rights and feeling that they are part of our own journey.
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