WASHINGTON – A newly dedicated bas-relief sculpture at the
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
in Washington portrays Mary calming the troubled sea, with
the North Star above her head.
The image of Our Lady Star of the Sea “will become a point of
spiritual pilgrimage for the people of the sea” when they
visit the shrine, said a news release announcing the
sculpture, installed in the narthex of the shrine’s Upper
Church.
It also “will help draw attention to the important services
that our mariners, fishermen and sea forces have done for our
country and the world,” the release said.
The bas-relief “roundel,” as it is called, is a gift of the
Confraternity of Our Lady Star of the Sea and the Apostleship
of the Sea USA. Both Catholic organizations have a strong
devotion to Mary under the title of “Stella Maris,” or Star
of the Sea. She is the patroness of seafarers and their
families.
The two groups commissioned Lou DiCocco and the Liturgical
Arts Studio in Havertown, Pennsylvania, to create the
sculpture.
Retired Bishop J. Kevin Boland of Savannah, Georgia,
dedicated it May 24 during a special Mass. The main celebrant
and homilist for the Mass, he is the U.S. bishop-promoter of
the apostleship, a worldwide Catholic maritime ministry.
Concelebrants were Msgr. Walter Rossi, rector of the national
shrine, and Father Sinclair Oubre, diocesan director of the
Apostleship of the Sea for the Diocese of Beaumont, Texas.
Assisting at Mass was Deacon Patrick LaPoint, port chaplain
board member of the Apostleship of the Sea USA.
Begun in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1920, the Apostleship of the
Sea takes the form of seaside chapels and Catholic welcome
centers as well as on-ship clergy and Catholic chaplaincy
programs.
The apostleship, which operates under the Pontifical Council
for Migrants and Travelers, has an international network of
chaplains and volunteers who serve the pastoral and social
needs of mariners and those working in the fishing industry,
as well as their families, and all who work and travel on the
waterways of the world.
The U.S. branch of the apostleship was begun in 1976 and
falls under the pastoral care of migrants, refugees and
travelers, a division of the Secretariat of Cultural
Diversity in the Church at the U.S. Conference of Catholic
Bishops in Washington.
It is considered the professional association of Catholic
seafarers, port chaplains, lay ecclesial ministers and
priests serving on cruise ships. The agency also advocates
for the rights of mariners.
Founded in 1973 in the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, Louisiana,
as Our Lady Star of the Sea rosary group, the confraternity
began a novena to Mary to seek protection from hurricanes and
natural disasters, and to enable seafarers and those making
their livelihood by the sea to seek her protection.
Editor’s Note: More information about the Apostleship of the
Sea USA can be found at www.usccb.org/aos.
