WASHINGTON (OSV News) – Discipleship begins by simply saying yes.
That was the message of Seattle Auxiliary Bishop Frank R. Schuster, bishop promoter of the Stella Maris ministry, at the annual Maritime Day Mass in Washington.
Stella Maris is the international Catholic organization for the social and spiritual welfare of seafarers and those in the maritime industry. The Mass, established in 2005, was celebrated May 23 in the Crypt Church of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. It followed the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for Mariners and All People of the Sea.
Bishop Schuster, joking that he had to Google the number before the service, said there were 1.9 million seafarers "out in the world right now." That total includes fishing crews, merchant mariners, port personnel and those who work on cruise ships.
Founded in 1920 in Glasgow, Scotland, the international ministry is now present in 53 maritime ports and in 26 states, with more than 100 chaplains and pastoral teams. It's divided into seven regions, with five headed by deacons, one by a priest, and one by lay leader.
"They don't have a parish. They don't have a place where they can go and pray," Sr. Joanna Okereke, told OSV News.
Sr. Joanna, assistant director of pastoral care of migrants, refugees and travelers at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Secretariat of Cultural Diversity, is the U.S. national director of Stella Maris, the name of which invokes the Marian title of "Our Lady, Star of the Sea."
For seafarers, chaplaincies provide Mass, sacraments, transportation to business centers and internet access, as well as places to relax in port. Chaplains also make ship visits.
"Many people don't seem to know it's a ministry," said Sr. Joanna, a member of the Congregation of the Handmaids of the Holy Child Jesus. She called seafarers often "voiceless. Nobody sees them. Nobody knows them."
And the constant travel makes conventional family and worship lives impossible, she observed: "Many of them are divorced while they're at sea. They're missing confirmations and baptisms. They think no one cares for them."
"These are challenging times and prayer calms them, so they know they're not forgotten," she added.
Spiritual guidelines published by Stella Maris observe that it is impossible for seafaring Catholics to participate in Mass every Sunday, "and can be very challenging while in port. For this reason, the Church stresses that you attend Mass on board in a seafarers' center, in a church where your ship is anchored."
Bishop Schuster based his homily on the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke, in which Mary says, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord" after being visited by the archangel Gabriel, and Jesus, in the 25th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, in which he says, "I was a stranger and you welcomed me."
"This is what our ministry is," Bishop Schuster said. "I have witnessed our chaplains doing this so well, all over the country."
He said of seafarers, "They're in this line of work because they're driven by the hope of a better tomorrow." They might feel unknown and forgotten, but not by God, not by Mary, "and not by us."
"Life is always moving, like waves in the ocean. Mary, the star of the sea, will not permit us to get lost if we keep our eyes on her. We are all the people of the sea, sailing to heavenly shores, because Mary said yes."
In November 2025, Pope Leo XIV formally established Stella Maris as an official public canonical legal entity within the church, approved its statutes and instituted it as the central, coordinating body for the global maritime ministry.
The papal document he issued stated this status change for Stella Maris, also known as the Apostleship of the Sea, came from "the fervent desire that the Church's spiritual care in the pastoral ministry of the sea may continue with enthusiasm and generosity."
