St George Catholic College - Southampton

Developer Level - Practical Strand

Supporting the Seafarers

The chaplain to the port of Southampton came into school to talk about his work with the Apostleship of the Sea. The students learned that seafarers, especially on the large container ships that come into Southampton, are often away from home for 9-10 months at a time, may miles from their homes.

Each tutor group organised a Christmas gift for a seafarer, collecting sweets and chocolate as well as practical items like notepads and woolly hats and scarves and these were presented to the chaplain at our Advent mass. The chaplain then took them straight to the docks where he was able to distribute the gifts.

An example of “welcoming the stranger” which made a real difference to the seafarers. We received many thanks and good wishes from the ships.