Faith and Filipino Seafarers
 Filipino
seafarers constitute some 20% of merchant seafarers making
the Philippines the largest single supply nation to the
world’s merchant fleet. Christians constitute about 94% of
Filipinos: 84% of these are Catholic.
In an article commissioned by REHMU, a Brazilian journal
on the study of migration, Sr Myrna Tordillo examines
religiosity among Filipino seafarers onboard ship. She
considers the influence of religious belief on migration
experience and the role of support groups and networks in
receiving ports.
Drawing on information gathered by the Apostleship of the
Sea, among other sources, the article finds that a sense of
uprootedness leads migrants to seek channels of social
connection. This need is especially acute among seafarers
who may not see land for weeks at a time and who may be
denied shore leave when the ship is in port, a condition
poignantly described by one seafarer as “prisoner of the
sea.”
Sr Myrna finds that religion offers strength, hope and
peace to Filipino seafarers. She quotes a ship’s cook who
says of attending Mass after two months at sea, Mass is
very good. It gives a charge.
 For
Catholic seafarers, life onboard poses challenges, for
example the difficulty of attending Mass regularly. However
seafarers report other devotional activities onboard, such
as praying the Rosary, which are living expressions of
faith.
Certain traditional Filipino cultural values can be
understood as Christian values. Through these, Filipino
seafarers embody a rich heritage which they transmit as they
practise their faith onboard and in port. These expressions
of faith and values are embodiments of who they are as
migrants, seafarers and Catholics.
The Apostleship of the Sea, through its network of port
chaplains and pastoral teams, can offer vital support to
seafarers in the expression of their faith and values.
Photograpsh: (1) Sr Myrna talks to crew members of the
Southampton Star in the Port of Philadelphia during the
National Day of Prayer and Remembrance for Mariners and
People of the Sea, 23 May 2007. (2) Sr Myrna with the crew
of the Southampton Star and the Most Rev. Robert Maginnis
who presided over Concelebrated Mass for the National Day of
Prayer and Remembrance for Mariners. |