Apostleship of the Sea of the United States of America
I was recently invited to join a special ministry that is provided by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and by the Holy See, called the Apostleship of the Sea. This ministry consists of volunteer priests who serve merchant sailors, cruise ship crews and passengers. This ministry has been in existence throughout the world for well over two hundred years. In the United States, priests and bishops give a week or so of their year to provide sacramental services to those at sea or in ports. This service is provided with no compensation with the exception of the ship passage, in some circumstances. Many of the seaports, such as San Francisco, Oakland and San Pedro have full time priests who are available for merchant sailors who come ashore after many months out at sea. Cruise ship companies now engage the AOS directly to have priests on board many of their cruise ships to provide daily Masses for passengers and crew members. The greater majority of the crew members of cruise ships that sail in and out the U.S. are Filipino men and women, nearly all of them Catholic. Usually a cruise ship chaplain will celebrate two Masses daily, one for passengers and one for the crew. The priest is also asked to provide a protestant-style service on Sundays for non-Catholics, and may even lead a Jewish community in prayer, if requested. He is responsible to hear confessions for Catholic passengers and crew, and be available for pastoral counseling for the crew. Not all cruise ship companies use Catholic priests, who must have the permission of their bishop to serve, and be in good standing. It is forbidden for AOS priests to witness marriages on cruise ships. Recently Celebrity Cruises ceased using Catholic priests (since only priests are brought in to do this ministry, not Protestant ministers.) Holland America uses the services of AOS the most of any cruise line. About a dozen priests of the Diocese of Fresno volunteer for the AOS. Rules for priest conduct and ministries working with AOS are set by the Vatican's office of the AOS. It is headed by a bishop. The American AOS is headed by a priest.
I joined the AOS last year and am now taking my first chaplaincy cruise with Holland America to Alaska this week. I am responsible for paying for my own way to and from the airport where the ship disembarks and returns, and in this case, it will be Seattle, WA. I am given free passage as long as I say two Masses every day, provide confession time for passengers and crew, and be present and available for pastoral counseling. I must pay for all incidentals that other passengers pay for, i.e. soft drinks, alcohol, etc. The priest must also host a dinner table with passengers as he is considered a ship officer employee for the week.
You probably also know that I lead tours and pilgrimages either every year or every other year. I have been doing this for NAWAS Catholic Travel for nearly all 25 years of my priesthood. I will be leading a pilgrimage from Oakhurst/Merced/Hanford in September to Rome and to the Passion Play in Germany. I also provide Mass everyday on these pilgrimages, give talks, sometimes give local tours when in Rome, and hear confessions and depending on where we go, celebrate marriage anniversaries, etc. I am the one who finds people for the tour/pilgrimage, usually those who have traveled with me before, and always new people from new parishes that I serve. I do not pay for the tour/pilgrimage itself, since, if you will, I'm "working it", making sure everything goes well, and I am ultimately responsible for the group, from the moment they step on the plane in the US, to the moment they are home.
The parish I serve never pays for my vacation time or my incidental charges when serving as a chaplain on a cruise ship. If I go to a conference/meeting/convention that is connected with the Office of Worship, the diocese pays my way. The parish, exclusively, absorbs the cost of the Religious Education Congress which is held annually. This enhances my pastoral ministry to the parish. I pay for my private vacation and any transportation that is personal.
Whenever I am called to celebrate a Basque Festival Mass on a Sunday, I personally pay the visiting priest his stipend for presiding at Mass here at Our Lady of the Sierra. Since I am compensated by the local Basque community, I feel that it is my personal responsibility to compensate the priest who takes my place here. The parish compensates priests when they are here because I am on vacation or away on diocesan business. At this writing, I have two Basque events left this year, one at the end of August and one in December. As mentioned in an earlier bulletin, I am the only Basque speaking priest now serving in the U.S., and thus when a community wants to have a Basque Mass on a Sunday, I am notified. Many of these Masses are now being moved to Saturdays, which will be easier for me.
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