With the sun shining on the waves, Archbishop Richard Smith made a pastoral visit to Vancouver’s port ministry, accompanying port chaplains in their duties supporting the spiritual welfare of docked seafarers and ship workers.

The archbishop toured the facilities with the national director of Stella Maris Canada, Deacon Dileep Athaide, and long-time ship-visiting volunteer Douglas McDonald, as they performed their duties at the Port of Vancouver.

Port Chaplain Fr. Eslin Pereira, CMF, said the Archdiocese of Vancouver Apostleship of the Sea team was grateful for the Archbishop’s visit and support. The visit included a meeting with the Port Ecumenical Centre’s Mission to Seafarers administrator, Rev. Peter Smyth, who gave a guided tour of the Vancouver waterfront Seafarers Centre and an overview of the activities and services available to visiting seafarers.

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Smith also toured a cargo vessel loading Canadian-grown barley at the Alliance Grain Terminal, one of the many independent dock operators along the south side of Burrard Inlet harbour. He met with the ship’s all-Filipino, mostly Catholic, crew of 21, who were thrilled to have the Archbishop visit their ship and to share with him a bit about their work and life aboard.

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“It was a real joy to meet the crew aboard the cargo vessel and to spend time with these hardworking men, many of whom are far from their families for long stretches of time,” Smith told The B.C. Catholic. “I was grateful for the opportunity to listen to their stories and pray together.”

Smith also thanked port ministry workers and volunteers for being a “powerful sign of the Church’s care for those who are often unseen yet essential to our daily lives.”

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“I am deeply grateful for the faithful service of all who ensure seafarers are welcomed, supported, and reminded of their God-given dignity,” he said.

The Apostleship of the Sea is an international Catholic ministry dedicated to the pastoral care of seafarers and their families. It was established in Scotland in 1920 to meet the spiritual and practical needs of sailors who often spent long periods far from home.