Inspired by the lovely posts at Alice's Cottage Blessings, and Dawn's By Sun and Candlelight, and Louise's Ecole Buissonniere, yesterday Marianna and I began our Marian Studies for May with a mosaic of Saint Mary Star of the Sea. Each little piece of the mosaic was cut from a picture of the salty sea or a sandy beach.
We have discovered that Mary Star of the Sea in Latin is Stella Maris. Under this name a network of 105 Seafarers Centers are run by the Roman Catholic Church's Apostleship of the Sea program. The main objectives are to provide for the pastoral care of seafarers and to extend the services for the spiritual, moral, physical and social needs of seafarers and all people of the sea. Seamen of different nationalities and religions consider Stella Maris Seafarers Centers to be a home away from home.
Our closest Stella Maris Apostleship of the Sea or AOS centers in the United States are at the Port of Miami, Pensacola, Cape Canaveral and Jacksonville.