Fr Brian McMahon, England
 As chaplain, all I could do was to be there with them”
Fr Brian McMahon is a sea-going chaplain with Apostleship
of the Sea Great Britain. He was chaplain to the crew on the
Swann Hellenic cruise ship Minerva 2 when the Boxing Day
2004 tsunami struck.
“It was the Second Day of Christmas and the sun-speckled
Indian Ocean was deceptively inviting. Early news of Indian
fishermen missing at sea due to a tsunami elicited little
response with very few knowing what a tsunami was. Early
indications of flooding caused speculation as to whether
Minerva 2 would have to postpone visits to Blair Island and
other such idyllic havens.
During the Third day of Christmas the mood, especially on
the crew decks began to change with indications on BBC 24
News that large areas of Indonesia and India were affected.
With sizable crew numbers from these lands, the mood became
sombre as small groups congregated in their various work
stations speculating on what was developing with the
speculation fuelled by a total break-down of telephone
communications.
Crew cabins have televisions but at every free
opportunity staff congregated in the crew mess room to share
the images on the communal TV. Ironically, it was on the
Fourth Day of Christmas, the Feast of the Holy Innocents,
that the full horror of the rising toll of innocent dead hit
home. As chaplain, all I could do was to be there with them;
not needing to say anything but saying a great deal more by
my presence. I had to respect that in these moments of tragedy crew
national allegiances came to the fore.
Indonesian and Indian crew are a diversity of Hindus,
Muslims and Christians and when they requested separate
Memorial Services, I was privileged to accept on their
terms. Never have I felt so inadequate at sea, as I
struggled to devise a Service that would embrace all
religious traditions. The Holy Spirit never fails us and the
two Services were conducted under the theme of Human Dignity
symbolised by a lighted candle.
Then the Filipino community, to express solidarity,
requested a Mass and, for the first and only time, the mess
was not large enough for the congregation. The following
week, the ship reached the Seychelles where my colleague Fr
Colum Kelly took over the chaplaincy. Colum was fully
briefed before boarding. His involvement was at its best as
the ship cruised through debris littered waters.
We experienced an
incredible change in crew appreciation of who and what the
chaplains are. In consequence, the seed was sown that for
all crew, whatever their religious tradition, we are their
spiritual leaders onboard. |