There is a long tradition of pastoral care of seafarers in the port of Melbourne. Records of the St Vincent de Paul society refer to ship visiting in 1889. The building housing the current Stella Maris Centre was blessed and opened in 1973.
Centre manager Rom Kucera and the pastoral team offer a warm Australian welcome to all visiting seafarers. In December, summer in Australia, seafarers are invited to Christmas barbecues which include the local favourite, kangaroo sausages. A group of Russian seafarers asked to see some live kangaroos. As there are no wild kangaroos near Melbourne, the Stella Maris team brought them to a local park to meet some friendly possums.
Outside the Stella Maris Seafarers' Centre, Melbourne | Lay chaplain John Kewa (left) and manager Rom Kucera (right) welcome AOS colleague Tony McAvoy and his wife Lynne from England |
A Russian seafarer meets local wildlife | Seafarer and possum make friends! |
Life at sea can be harsh and monotonous which can have a dehumanising effect. Leisure activities such as parties and excursions help to restore some balance. This is why they are such an important part of the pastoral care offered by AOS to all seafarers.
The Stella Maris Centre also offers "state of the art" communications facilities including computers with webcams and microphone headsets. A wireless network allows seafarers to connect to the Internet using their own laptops while relaxing in the centre's garden.
Another important service offered by Stella Maris Melbourne is its comprehensive website. The website includes a daily list of ships in port and a photo gallery of crews who have visited the centre, something of a family album. These comments from the online guestbook show how much visiting seafarers appreciate the care of AOS in Melbourne.
All of our crew members are so thankful to Stella Maris Melbourne for giving us a lot of service. People serving in this centre are so familiar to our ship members and they all are so kind to us.
Sundaram, India
I'm already back in the Philippines, thanks a lot for your assistance during our visits in Melbourne. It was a pleasure for me to have visited your centre everytime our ship calls to Melbourne. God bless all of you and may you continue to render loving assistance to every seafarer.
Chester, Philippines
I thought before that nobody care about seafarers. But after my visit to Stella Maris in Melbourne I understood that people which work there always ready to help you. That place is like a hospital for soul. Thank you very much!!!
Andrey, Ukraine
click here to go to the website of the Stella Maris Centre in Melbourne
