Archives: Memories

As a child, Fred walked miles with his family to get to Sunday Mass and when he joined the Merchant Navy in 1947 he sought out the Seaman’s Missions in the ports he visited.  The first attachment is a picture of Fred when he joined up.  The second attachment shows the ships he sailed on between 1947 and 1954. 

Born in Southampton and his dad a seaman, it was not unexpected that he would choose a life at sea.  As a young teenager in WW2, he joined the Home Guard, patrolling Southampton docklands.  Before he was old enough he signed up for the Royal Navy by changing his birth year from 1925 to 1924. 

While away from home for lengthy periods, Fred understood the need to seek comfort and strength from his Christian beliefs.  So when the other crew members were leaving port and heading for the bright lights of the nearby town or city, Fred would look for the seamans mission.  He said it was there that he could find spiritual support and good company. 

Cristina, a consecrated laywoman, a person of deep faith, fully dedicated to the service of God, devoted much of her life to the People of the Sea. She had a deep knowledge of their life and work.

Strong in character, she had no qualms about approaching a mayor, a managing director, or a minister in order to stand up for what she believed was fair.

Her activity was not limited to working side by side with the fishermen. She was also the driving force behind the fishermen’s wife’s association “Rosa dos Ventos”, which gave birth to the well-known Boga newsletter, a high-quality magazine, renowned for both for its articles and its presentation.

For years, she was the delegate of the Apostleship of the Sea for fishermen in Spain.

Always accompanied by Mari Carmen Grobas, they formed a tireless duo. They travelled through different fishing ports in Spain, with a similar zeal to that of Saint Paul, promoting Stella Maris, Apostleship of the Sea and upholding the rights and dignity of fishermen. Aware of the importance of defending the rights of fishermen beyond the Spanish borders, she even went to Brussels and there  had meetings with officials from the European Fisheries Commission.

Contacting fishermen’ wives from other European countries, especially from France and the Benelux, they created a European association, in order to have more strength in their advocacy for fishermen’s welfare.

She rejected conformity and considered that one could not become an Apostle of the Sea without a firm commitment to seafarers, fishers and their families and that the defence of their rights was an obligation that derived from it.

She was invited several times to the Vatican, by the former Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, to speak before bishops from around the world about the life and work of fishermen.

She was a beacon in the world of fishing.

She fought for control systems for working hours to be installed on deep-sea fishing boats and for the general improvement of safety and vacation periods for crews.

With constancy and without rest they worked as a team, Cristina, Mary Carmen and Ricardo Lion, from their office in Stella Maris, also attending to the merchant seafarers who came to them.

Even in recent years she promoted the Center for Seafarers’ Rights in the port of Vigo.

There was no space in her life that was not dedicated to the People of the Sea and their families.

Cristina, 85 years old, is now gone. God, who called her to serve Him among the People of the Sea, has now reclaimed her for His kingdom. There she will meet many people who loved her and especially so many fishermen who preceded her.

The name of Cristina will be engraved in the history of the Apostleship of the Sea, “Stella Maris” and in our hearts.

Deacon Ricardo-Stella Maris Barcelona

Retired priest Canon Michael Hazell from Ipswich, a keen supporter of the seafarers and Stella Maris, died peacefully on March 25^th 2020.

Canon Michael Hazell was a priest, originally from the Diocese of Northampton before retiring to the Diocese of East Anglia where he lived and assisted in Holy Family Church, Kesgrave, Suffolk.

He was greatly loved by all those had the good fortune of knowing him. He was a deeply religious and pastoral priest who had a great love for everyone. One of his ministries – which was very dear to him was the plight of the thousands of seafarers who arrive day in and day out at our local port in Felixstowe. Canon Michael was a very keen supporter of the work of Stella Maris. For many years he celebrated Mass monthly at the Felixstowe Seafarers Centre until he became unwell with cancer. The Mass was always attended by a faithful band of parishioners. When the seafarers could not attend Mass, their prayer requests, photos, messages, rosaries, and Holy pictures were there on the altar to remind all and for Canon Michael to bless. On one occasion, he climbed the gangway (3 stories high) to comfort a father whose child had died, 7,000 miles away in the Philippines. Another night, he held the hands and led a prayer for a distraught crew who had lost a shipmate in a tragic accident as they unloaded cargo.

His cheerfulness and smile would melt one’s heart. His homilies at Mass were simple and yet beautifully described the love of God for everyone. During his last months, even when he was very poorly in hospital, he never failed to ask about the seafarers when I visited him. He would also ask about the work of Stella Maris.

He was such a man of God, that his passing was a sad and great loss to his local parishioners at Kesgrave, Ipswich. It is also a sad loss to the many seafarers who had met him and he will be greatly missed by them.

They will always hold him dear in their hearts as he did during his ministry to them.

“The funeral will be a private celebration for the family only, but a Diocesan Requiem Mass for Canon Michael will be arranged when the present pandemic crisis is ended,” said Bishop Alan.

Julian Wong
Regional Port Chaplain,
East Anglia and the Haven Ports.