AOS-USA Maritime E-News: October 10, 2015

When Milton Vega got a cellphone bulletin in his car Monday that the El Faro had sunk, he found a nearby chapel, dropped to his knees and wept for the type of gritty men and women he knows so well.

As director of the Apostleship of the Sea Catholic Port Ministry branch in Jacksonville, Vega had been to the Blount-Island based cargo ship a handful of times to offer his greetings, pass out religious pamphlets and magazines and spread other good will.

He never imagined not being able to board her again. And he couldn't imagine what her 33-member crew went through as Category 4 Hurricane Joaquin blasted their engine-troubled ship heading from Jacksonville to Puerto Rico.

Vega, set to become an ordained deacon in December, said he asked that God take care of the lost seafarers.

"We don't know their levels of belief and what their denominations are, but God is a God of all, especially of people who lost their lives in a noble cause." said Vega, 62. "That's what I prayed for."

Vega said life at the ministry center on Blount Island - there also is one in Tallyrand - will never been the same with the sense of loss brought by the El Faro tragedy. But he said the mission to comfort the scores of men and women who seek out the ministry will continue with an even greater purpose to serve those in need.

The Apostleship of the Sea, also known as Stella Maris (Star of the Sea) is an international organization, with the local agency being overseen by the Diocese of St. Augustine. Founded more than 100 years ago, the agency gives pastoral care to seafarers through chaplaincies in ports worldwide, regardless of religious beliefs.

The Blount Island center, which opened about 20 years ago, is in a trailer whose walls are partly covered by pictures of Jesus and the Pope and is filled with religious pamphlets and books. Among the materials given to seafarers is a picture of Jesus with his hands wrapped around four sailors as they navigate through stormy seas. On the back is the Mariner's Prayer.

There is a small chapel, a lounge area and a small grocery and gift section for sale to seafarers and Blount Island workers.

Vega and a dozen volunteers provide counseling and transportation services, for shopping and visits to nearby churches, and affordable calling cards and SIM cards for foreign sailors whose phones may not be compatible in the U.S. Vega is the only paid staff member and served as a volunteer for five years before his appointment in December.

Center workers usually visit recently docked ships to offer their services. There's also a Baptist-based ministry at Blount Island.

"They sacrifice being away from family, from loved ones, for extended periods of times,' Vega said. "This is where some of our ministry comes in."

Pete Decker has volunteered for the ministry for about six years. He described the men and women he interacts with as hard-workers often happy to see a friendly face ready to help them with their physical and psychological needs.

"Usually they [seafarers] are very inviting," said Decker, 67, a retired worker at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay. "They just seem to be very ordinary people like any of us out there to make a living."

Vega's interest in seafarers dates to his days as a young man watching ships come in and out a harbor outside his home in Puerto Rico. He has experienced his own sea-related tragedy when a brother-in-law in the Peruvian military died after his helicopter crashed into the ocean more than 30 years ago. He thought of that death while talking about the lives lost aboard the El Faro.

"The sea is very unforgiving," Vega said. "It's the most beautiful thing, but when they [the El Faro crew] encountered that situation, it must have been horrible for them."

Vega said he didn't know any of the El Faro crew personally, but remembers them as a warm, friendly group. He said he was last aboard the 790-foot cargo ship about 10 months ago and remembers driving one of the crew to a rental car company to begin his shore leave.

Vega said he first heard of the El Faro's Oct. 1 disappearance while returning to Jacksonville from a vacation in Philadelphia, where he got to within 50 feet of Pope Francis during his trip to the U.S. Vega, a grandfather, said his heart broke thinking about the helplessness suffered by those with loved ones aboard the ship.

"When you work in this industry, when you lose someone you lose part of your family," Vega said. "I felt that sense of great loss and worry."

He said he held out hope that survivors would be found and still does. But that hope dimmed upon learning Wednesday that the Coast Guard was calling of the search.

"You pray the Lord has taken them in his arms into heaven," he said. "We will continue to pray for their souls."

MARINER'S PRAYER

Among the materials provided to seafarers by those who work for the Apostleship of the Sea ministry is a picture of Jesus with his hands wrapped around four sailors as they navigate through stormy seas. Here is the text of the prayer:

Our Lady, Star of the Sea, Mother of God and our Mother, you know all the dangers of soul and body that threaten mariners. Protect your sons and daughters who work and travel on the waters of the world, and protect also their families that await their return. Star of the Sea, Mother of the Church, give light and strength to those chaplains and lay ministers who bring the love of your Divine Son among mariners. Fill their hearts with a supernatural and life-giving zeal for the apostolate. Star of the Sea, light shining in the darkness, be a guide to those who sail amid the storms and dangers of life. Enlighten the hearts of ardent disciples and bring us all to the safety of heaven's port.

Amen.