In many parts of the world, the second Sunday in July is referred to as Sea Sunday. Many Christian communities come together to celebrate and pray for those who work on the water, doing dangerous but very vital work. EWTN Vatican Journalist Paola Arriaza has more.

The sea is a dangerous workplace. Tsunamis, piracy, and isolation are only some of the greatest hardships for those who work at sea. Because of these challenges, support for seafarers is essential.

Stella Maris is a Catholic international agency that provides pastoral care to seafarers and their families. In 1920, a group of laypeople founded the organization in Glasgow, Scotland. While these jobs impact so many people’s everyday lives, it is a little-talked-about sector.

Fr. Bruno Ciceri is a Scalabrinian missionary with Stella Maris. He notes, “If we think, if we look around ourselves in our house, most of the things that we have, they come and they are transported by ship. We say that around 90% of the commerce is done by ship. And there is a workforce of almost 2 million people who are always on the move from one side to another. So, from our TV, the cell phone, but even gasoline, or even the food or anything else.”

Stella Maris’s founding belief is that "every seafarer deserves fair working conditions and respect for their human rights.”

Today, the Catholic network has over 1,000 chaplains and volunteers in 330 ports across 60 countries from Australia to the USA, working to support seafarers.

“We have chaplains and volunteers who go to the port every day,” Fr. Bruno explains. “They do the so-called ship visit if they are allowed to enter into the port and provide the spiritual and material assistance to the seafarers.”

Beyond having to confront injustices, exploitation, and inequalities onboard, Fr. Bruno also mentions the dangers of isolation, piracy, and natural catastrophes. He focuses especially on the difficulties that not only come with cultural diversity but also with being away from one’s family for extended periods of time.

To encourage the world to pray for those who work in the maritime sector, Christian communities come together each year on the second Sunday of July, Sea Sunday, to pray for the safety of seafarers and fishers and to thank them for their sacrifices.

The Vatican has also reminded the faithful of the importance of the sea as “it is by way of the sea that the Church was formed and spread throughout the entire world.”

“Jesus started the Church with the fishers,” Fr. Bruno highlights. “And Jesus often preached from the boat in the lake, in the lake of Tiberias, and other things, so the sea is at the beginning of the Church. But also the apostles, they spread the Catholic faith by sailing, by moving from one place to another. So the sea is very important for us because the sea is where the Church was started, and the sea is the place where the Church expanded around the world.”

Adapted by Jacob Stein