Stella Maris National Director Fr Tony Cox SSC said while Sea Sunday was a time to appeal for financial assistance, more importantly it is “an opportunity to become more actively conscious of their lives of seafarers and the hardships they encounter and endure”.

With more than 28,000 merchant ships visit Australian ports each year, crewed by some 300,000 seafarers, an appeal being launched this Sunday across parishes aims to raise awareness of the needs of seafarers – Perth Deacon and former Director of the Stella Maris Seafarers Centre has shared his experience with Journey Radio Editor Max Norden.

Stella Maris Australia, a Catholic agency that provides spiritual and practical support to those working at sea, has joined an international coalition calling for better treatment of seafarers during the pandemic.

This year, 2020, the year of COVID-19 also marks the 100th anniversary of the Church’s ministry to seafarers through Stella Maris and unsurprisingly, it is the effects of the pandemic that have occupied Stella Maris centres in ports across Australia and around the world.