Archbishop John Sherrington received a warm welcome by seafarers and Catholic seafarers’ charity Stella Maris when he visited Seaforth and Huskisson Docks in the Port of Liverpool and Garston Docks on 1 July.

He was accompanied by Chris Reynolds, Stella Maris regional port chaplain for Liverpool, who took Archbishop John on a tour of the docks and then boarded a ship, the Arklow Beach.

On board, they shared coffee and chatted with the Filipino crew who spoke about their lives as seafarers and about their families back home.

Archbishop John prayed with the ship’s cook whose sister was recovering from cancer treatment. He then blessed rosaries, all of which were generously donated by him, and gave them out to the crew. The rosaries are still being given out, and some were distributed to seafarers and port workers as recently as 6 July at Runcorn Docks.

The ship’s captain needed to top up supplies on board, so Archbishop John and Chris drove him to the supermarket and back to the vessel with the groceries.

Chris said, “We are very grateful to Archbishop John for his time, and for his presence and generosity to the seafarers we encountered. The crew were delighted and really appreciated his visit, and clearly the impact of his visit continues. We look forward to welcoming him on more ship visits in future.”

The visit was a great opportunity for Archbishop John to see and hear for himself what life is like for the many seafarers who work hard and long hours to move vital goods around the world. Often, they endure long separations from family and face isolation, exhaustion, anxiety, and uncertainty.

As we prepare to celebrate Sea Sunday this Sunday, 12 July, the visit was also a timely reminder of the work that Chris and other Stella Maris port chaplains and ship visiting volunteers do to provide practical, pastoral and spiritual support to seafarers and their families.