People of the Sea
Sea going ministry
Two AOS chaplains talk about their work in the cruise sector.
“The chaplain is there to listen to people’s problems and also to the details of their lives”
Fr Luca Centurioni is a sea-going chaplain with Apostleship of the Sea Italy. AOS Italy supplies chaplains to the cruise lines with Italian Flags. He talks about his pastoral work with passengers and crew members.
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"Italian Ships have a long tradition of cruise chaplaincy. It began with the chaplains who accompanied Italian emigrants to South America early in the 20th century. These days, cruise chaplains onboard are senior officers who also hold the title of “Welfare Officer”.
At the start of each cruise, we attend “meet and greet” sessions for new crew. The captain introduces the chaplain as the person to whom crew should turn for help in any personal or welfare matter. In a busy, high pressure environment like a cruise ship, some people might keep their thoughts to themselves. The chaplain offers the crew the chance to talk.
Sometimes crew members want a football match ashore and ask the chaplain to organise it. Or there is a request for a party or some other entertainment for the crew. Other times, they want to talk about important matters such as their families. The chaplain is there to listen to people’s problems but also to the details of their lives. He is a familiar person to the crew. They know that, as he is a priest, whatever they say to him is confidential.
Often I have been walking past the communications room and heard someone calling “father, father, come here”: a crew member is downloading an email with a family photo attached, maybe even a photo of a newborn baby whom they haven’t seen yet. They are calling on the chaplain to share the moment. I find that, whatever their religion, crew members call their chaplains “father”. It is a sign of trust.
We aim to have chaplains serving for five months at a time. We also try to have a permanent team of full time chaplains. In sharing with crew members in the life of the ship, they develop expertise in pastoral care. On some ships, the same chaplain stays in place over a long period, with an occasional break. Regular chaplaincy provides continuity: important when officers change frequently. Crew members returning after a period of absence like to see the same chaplain.
As chaplains we are involved in all aspects of the life of the ship. We celebrate Mass for passengers and also, on Sunday night, for the crew. We prepare people for receiving the sacraments: baptism, holy communion, confirmation, marriage. We also lead the Welfare Committee along with Staff Captain, Cruise Director and union representatives. As such we organise leisure activities for the crew.
But what has this to do with pastoral care? This is welfare work and welfare work is often the beginning of spiritual work and evangelisation.”
“As chaplain, all I could do was to be there with them”
Fr Brian McMahon is a sea-going chaplain with Apostleship of the Sea Great Britain. He was chaplain to the crew on the Swann Hellenic cruise ship Minerva 2 when the Boxing Day 2004 tsunami struck.
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“It was the Second Day of Christmas and the sun-speckled Indian Ocean was deceptively inviting. Early news of Indian fishermen missing at sea due to a tsunami elicited little response with very few knowing what a tsunami was. Early indications of flooding caused speculation as to whether Minerva 2 would have to postpone visits to Blair Island and other such idyllic havens.
During the Third day of Christmas the mood, especially on the crew decks began to change with indications on BBC 24 News that large areas of Indonesia and India were affected. With sizable crew numbers from these lands, the mood became sombre as small groups congregated in their various work stations speculating on what was developing with the speculation fuelled by a total break-down of telephone communications.
Crew cabins have televisions but at every free opportunity staff congregated in the crew mess room to share the images on the communal TV. Ironically, it was on the Fourth Day of Christmas, the Feast of the Holy Innocents, that the full horror of the rising toll of innocent dead hit home. As chaplain, all I could do was to be there with them; not needing to say anything but saying a great deal more by my presence.
I had to respect that in these moments of tragedy crew national allegiances came to the fore.
Indonesian and Indian crew are a diversity of Hindus, Muslims and Christians and when they requested separate Memorial Services, I was privileged to accept on their terms. Never have I felt so inadequate at sea, as I struggled to devise a Service that would embrace all religious traditions. The Holy Spirit never fails us and the two Services were conducted under the theme of Human Dignity symbolised by a lighted candle.
Then the Filipino community, to express solidarity, requested a Mass and, for the first and only time, the mess was not large enough for the congregation. The following week, the ship reached the Seychelles where my colleague Fr Colum Kelly took over the chaplaincy. Colum was fully briefed before boarding. His involvement was at its best as the ship cruised through debris littered waters.
In the world time clock, 10 days is the mere blink of an eyelid and that was how close the ship came to being in the eye of the storm – a feeling that was very much in the thoughts of all. On the ship itself, we experienced an incredible change in crew appreciation of who and what the chaplains are. In consequence, the seed was sown that for all crew, whatever their religious tradition, we are their spiritual leaders on board.”