Ship visiting in Brazil
Two AOS ship visitors in Rio de Janeiro talk about their experiences.
I have visited more than 300 ships and talked to many people from different parts of the world and the experience has been wonderful.
"I am Rogeiro Celestina Cabongo, originally from the City of Luanda, Angola. I would like to
share with you how I came to work in the Stella Maris Centre, Rio de Janeiro.
I arrived in Brazil on 21 June 1994 intending to seek political asylum as a refugee. I was taken in by the Archdiocesan Caritas which helped me to legalise my documentation. Then I entered the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro where I studied psychology. I did some other courses such as web master and computer languages. And then one day, I was contacted unexpectedly by the social worker at Caritas about working with Father Samuel Fonseca, AOS Port Chaplain in Rio de Janeiro
When I arrived at the Church of Saint Cecilia and Saint Pius X for my interview, Father Samuel received me with great kindness. He told me a bit about the pastoral calling of the sea, what the objectives were, and the services offerred to the People of the Sea. The next day we went to the Stella Maris Centre, situated in the port area. We visited some of the ships that were there and I was very happy. It reminded me of the ten years I had spent working on the oil rigs.
It is now four months since I have been part of this calling. I have visited more than 300 ships and talked to many people from different parts of the world and the experience has been wonderful. I thank God for this opportunity and I hope to do some good work to help the people who work in this sector."
Rogeiro Celestina Cabongo
We need a lot of humility and perseverance
"My name is Fredy Alberto Fonseca, of Colombian nationality. I have worked and done activities as a volunteer in the Stella Maris Centre in Rio de Janeiro for two years. During this time I have been alongside many seafarers who pass through the port of Rio de Janeiro.
Ship visiting is a priority. This is where I learned what pastoral workers should be. At first it was not easy for me not having mastered English, the official language for this type of calling. I realised that English was absolutely indispensible. Slowly but surely, I made progress. Sharing experiences together with seafarers enabled me to understand the real culture of men and women of the sea.
During this time I witnessed at close hand the most basic needs of the people who, for different reasons, live and work in this profession. The situation enabled us to see what essential services the Centre should offer. The Stella Maris Centre is a meeting point for all seafarers in a port. It is a very important place as it is where they come to us looking for religious and social guidance.
It is extremely important that the people who work in the centre have a good knowledge and understanding of what seafarers need so that we can offer them guidance that is appropriate and correct. We also need a lot of humility and perseverance to receive with open arms and hearts the seafarers who arrive and pass through the Centre every day.
I hope that this beautiful and wonderful calling grows and flourishes so that an ever greater number of seafarers can be helped. In truth, they have a great need of assistance and a friendly word in every port."
Fredy Alberto Fonseca
