In the Roman Catholic Church, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Divine Savior, Jesus Christ, is Stella Maris – The Star of the Sea. Mary is the daughter of St. Anne and St. Joachim. Both her parents descended from the Royal House of David from the land of Judah. Her father was a shepherd. Her name is Miryam in Hebrew; Mariam in Greek; and Maryam in Judeo-Aramaic – Mar for “drop” and yam for “sea.”
In the old Aramaic language, Stella Maris meant pilot, leader or guide, someone who could navigate through the sea or the desert through the position of the stars, and lead people to safety. The stars were and are used as a guide to safety and to new life. The sea covers all the earth and symbolizes all the people of the earth. Mother Mary was therefore identified from the very earliest days of the Church as the “guiding star” to Her Son for all the people of the earth.
Mary is believed to calm raging storms in the seas, as well as the storms in our lives. She leads us to the right path to Jesus Christ, Her Son, and is a ray of hope. Thus, Mary is regarded as the Stella Maris of fishermen as well as fishers of men, and many coastal churches are named Stella Maris.
The sea has always been the most feared because of its enormous power to sustain or destroy life. People are powerless and insignificant in the midst of the sea’s rage. Yet the sea is a constant source of food and nourishment. The waters of the sea are therefore a metaphor for blessings and perils; beauty and destruction; stillness and turbulence.
In the 12th Century, St. Bernard of Clairvaux, France (1090 AD-1153 AD), a former Benedictine Monk who formed the Cistercian Order, wrote this prayer: “If the winds of temptation arise; if you are driven upon the rocks of tribulation, look to the Star, call on Mary. If you are tossed on the waves of pride, ambition, of envy, of rivalry, look to the Star, call on Mary. Should anger or avarice, or fleshly desire violently assail the frail vessel of your soul, look to the Star, call upon Mary.”
In 1221, St. Anthony of Padua, a Portuguese Franciscan Friar (1195 AD-1231 AD) wrote a similar prayer: “Our Lady, Star of the Sea, we pray that You shine upon us when we are buffeted by the raging sea. Guide us to harbor, defend our going out with your watchful presence so we may be found fit to go out safely from this prison, and come joyfully to unending joy.”
In the 8th Century, St. Paschasius Radbertus of Corbie, Neustria (785 AD-865 AD) wrote this prayer: “Mary is the Star of the Sea to be followed on the way to Christ, lest we capsize amid the storm-tossed waves of the sea.” St. Paschasius Radbertus was a Carolingian theologian, poet, writer and in 844 AD became the Benedictine Abbot of Corbie, a monastery in Picardy, France founded in 657 by the Queen Regent Bathilde. His letter on the Assumption of Mary was formerly attributed to St. Jerome of Stridon (Patrologia Latina, 30:122-142), a Desert Father (367 AD-420 AD) who identified in his writings that “Mary, Mother of God, is the Star of the Sea.” St. Jerome was often cited in Christological treatises of the middle ages. Regarding the “Real Presence” of Christ in the Eucharist, St. Paschasius Radbertus described it as Mary’s own flesh which had suffered on the cross, was buried, and rose again (De Corp. 4.3 and 7.2). He had many critics but managed to have great influence because in the 11th Century, a number of passages copied from his work were circulated under the name of St. Augustine of Hippo.
The Roman Catholic Church commemorates worldwide the Feast of Stella Maris every September 27th of the year.
Mary, the Stella Maris, is the venerated guide and protector of seafarers. She is the Patron Saint of the Apostleship of the Sea (AoS), an official Apostolate of the Catholic order founded in Glasgow, Scotland. She is the patroness of the Netherlands.
The AoS has for many years commemorated the Feast of Stella Maris – Star of the Sea, with Mass each year on September 27 for seafarers. It is a day to pray for all seafarers and give thanks for their several; months at sea and contribution to global trade. In 2014, AoS port chaplains in Great Britain visited 9,951 ships and assisted 199,020 seafarers. A total of 173 masses were celebrated on ships. In 2015, Archbishop of Manila, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle wrote a letter of thanks to AoS for its continuous spiritual support for Filipino seafarers arriving at British ports.
“Caring for seafarers is profoundly a Christian thing to do” –said Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols in the Stella Maris Mass at Westminster Cathedral in 2016.
“Stella Maris – Star of the Sea– has long been the favorite title by which people of the sea have called on Her, in whose protection they have always trusted, the Blessed Virgin Mary. Her son, Jesus Christ, accompanied His disciples in their vessels, helped them in their work and calmed the storms. And so the Church accompanies seafarers, caring for the special spiritual needs of those who for various reasons live and work in the maritime world.” – Pope John Paul II