Icon Visits Portishead
The Apostleship of the Sea’s original six-foot Icon of Our Lady Star of
the Sea (Stella Maris in Latin) has been welcomed to the Clifton
Diocese as part of its year-long tour around Britain’s coastline.
The Icon, commissioned by the Apostleship of the Sea (AOS) in Great Britain and painted by renowned neo-Coptic iconographer Dr Stéphane René, was brought in St Joseph’s, Portishead by Monsignor Noel Mullin, the Apostleship of the Sea Chaplain to the ports of Avonmouth, Portbury and Sharpness.
The Icon was welcomed to this country back on 1 April at a ceremony in Westminster Cathedral at which it was blessed by Cardinal Francis Arinze, Prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
During its tour, the Icon will serve as the focus for a campaign to promote devotion to Our Lady Stella Maris, and raise awareness of the issues facing international seafarers who bring us 95% of the goods we use and consume every day. Stella Maris is one of the most ancient titles for Our Lady, and under this title she is the patroness of all seafarers, and of AOS.
Portishead parish priest Father Gerry Walsh expressed his great sense of pride that St Joseph’s had been chosen to be the first parish to receive the Icon in the Clifton Diocese. He said, “Our parish of St Joseph offered prayers for seafarers and for all those who work in the nearby port of Portbury.”
Commodore Chris York, National Director of AOS and a resident of the Clifton Diocese said, “The nationwide Icon tour is tremendously exciting. It is an opportunity to raise the profile of the work of the Church in reaching out to seafarers, who are some of the most vulnerable and needy workers in our country and experience at first hand the pressures of globalisation. They may only be here for a few hours at a time, but the impact they have on our lives is immense and we owe it to them to provide for their needs.
“The tour will also give us the opportunity to showcase our beautiful Icon, and to promote devotion to Our Lady. As a missionary outreach of the Church, it is a great privilege for us to be able to do this.”
After Christmas the Icon will be taken to St Bernard’s in Shirehampton, Bristol before moving onto Christ the King in Thornbury.
The Apostleship of the Sea (AOS) is an international organisation with an active presence in over 100 countries. In Great Britain, AOS is an agency of the Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of England & Wales and Scotland. It is also an independent charity wholly reliant on voluntary donations to continue its ministry.
Ninety-five percent of world trade is carried by ship, and some 1,000,000 seafarers visit British ports each year. They are commonly away from home for nine to 12 months at a time, suffering loneliness, depression and even exploitation. They also have to work in gruelling and often dangerous conditions. AOS chaplains and ship visitors welcome seafarers to our shores - regardless of their creed or nationality - and provide them with pastoral and practical assistance. They recognise them as brothers with an intrinsic human dignity which can be overlooked in the modern globalised maritime industry.
Useful URL : http://www.icontour.net
The Icon, commissioned by the Apostleship of the Sea (AOS) in Great Britain and painted by renowned neo-Coptic iconographer Dr Stéphane René, was brought in St Joseph’s, Portishead by Monsignor Noel Mullin, the Apostleship of the Sea Chaplain to the ports of Avonmouth, Portbury and Sharpness.
The Icon was welcomed to this country back on 1 April at a ceremony in Westminster Cathedral at which it was blessed by Cardinal Francis Arinze, Prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.
During its tour, the Icon will serve as the focus for a campaign to promote devotion to Our Lady Stella Maris, and raise awareness of the issues facing international seafarers who bring us 95% of the goods we use and consume every day. Stella Maris is one of the most ancient titles for Our Lady, and under this title she is the patroness of all seafarers, and of AOS.
Portishead parish priest Father Gerry Walsh expressed his great sense of pride that St Joseph’s had been chosen to be the first parish to receive the Icon in the Clifton Diocese. He said, “Our parish of St Joseph offered prayers for seafarers and for all those who work in the nearby port of Portbury.”
Commodore Chris York, National Director of AOS and a resident of the Clifton Diocese said, “The nationwide Icon tour is tremendously exciting. It is an opportunity to raise the profile of the work of the Church in reaching out to seafarers, who are some of the most vulnerable and needy workers in our country and experience at first hand the pressures of globalisation. They may only be here for a few hours at a time, but the impact they have on our lives is immense and we owe it to them to provide for their needs.
“The tour will also give us the opportunity to showcase our beautiful Icon, and to promote devotion to Our Lady. As a missionary outreach of the Church, it is a great privilege for us to be able to do this.”
After Christmas the Icon will be taken to St Bernard’s in Shirehampton, Bristol before moving onto Christ the King in Thornbury.
The Apostleship of the Sea (AOS) is an international organisation with an active presence in over 100 countries. In Great Britain, AOS is an agency of the Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of England & Wales and Scotland. It is also an independent charity wholly reliant on voluntary donations to continue its ministry.
Ninety-five percent of world trade is carried by ship, and some 1,000,000 seafarers visit British ports each year. They are commonly away from home for nine to 12 months at a time, suffering loneliness, depression and even exploitation. They also have to work in gruelling and often dangerous conditions. AOS chaplains and ship visitors welcome seafarers to our shores - regardless of their creed or nationality - and provide them with pastoral and practical assistance. They recognise them as brothers with an intrinsic human dignity which can be overlooked in the modern globalised maritime industry.
Useful URL : http://www.icontour.net
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