Sea Festival at the Port of Civitavecchia

Civitavecchia,11.July 2010 at 10:30 am under the warm summer sun at Dock no 6 of indside the Port of Civitavecchia . Fellow Marines and their families, Port Authorities,Boy Scouts of Italy Civitavecchia , Voluntaries of Stella Maris Civitavecchia have gathered together to  clelbrate the Holy Mass aboard a moorer boat in commemoratioon of the Marines at Sea.One of the scheduled celebrations for The festival of the Sea.
Celebrated by Father Artur of Stella Maris, Fathere Salvatore, Chaplain of the Marines, Fathere Girogio Chaplain of Church of Holy mary at the Port.

Sea Festival at Civitavecchia

Celebrating Santa Fermina

The Feast of Santa Fermina, the patron saint of the city of Civitavecchia and protector of sailors, is celebrated on April 28. The this sacred date to be to the celebrations in a city the relics of St. April 27, 1647 in the town of Amelia, the celebration of the procession on the following day, April 28. This event is preserved today at the Historical Archives of Civitavecchia, describing the arrival of the relics in the Holy City and that there is a witness of the first procession in Civitavecchia.
It is a tradition that  Fermina was born in Rome at the end of the third century AD, a prefect daughter Roman  Calpurnius, she converted to Christianity at an early age. Fled from Rome and the comforts of her home during the period of violent persecution against Christians, he boarded a ship bound for Centumcellae (modern Civitavecchia) during the short voyage a violent storm that Fermina settles down with her prayer. The ship arrived in Centumcellae and sailors witnessed the miracle, worshiped as the protector of sailors, while the population of the small port town proclaimed its patroness.

Fermina, in the short stay in the city Tyrrhenian spent in works of charity, prayer and the Gospel, made a cave not far from the landing point of the ship and which is still incorporated in the Fortress Giulia (Forte Michelangelo).During her visit in her humble home in Amelia , their stay at Centumcellae, , she was persecuted as a Christian by  the young Roman emperor Diocletian and was martyred November 24 306.
The remains of her body were buried in Amelia, and in Civitavecchia they  built the ruins of Centumcellae, in 1647 he dedicated a chapel in the church of Santa Maria, then the only parish in the city.
In 1642 a survey was made on the body of Santa Fermina, which was kept in the town of Amelia, where she was buried secretly and found  in 870. Viscount Collemodi Terence Francis Chamberlain and Valvassori, the papal city, had authorized  Amelia that some of the relics of saints were then to be donated to the town of Civitavecchia, where there was a cult which  remained unbroken for centuries.
A testimony about this very important tradition so deeply rooted in the Tyrrhenian city.,It is provided by the travel memoirs published in 1731 the French Dominican Father Jean Baptiste Labat, who, after having spent twelve years in the Antilles islands as a missionary and not only was transferred  to in Civitavecchia Italy  in 1710.

The Seafahrers Life on Sea and on Shore

The life of a seaman  on sea is'a reality that you do not know, because it is' not a heaven nor are they on the ground.They embak on a port and then they go away to another port.

Living on a ship for months as part of a crew become at times unnoticed. As they arrive a foreign port these men and women don’t seem to exsist, they are not citizens, do not vote, do not fill the squares, do not do shows, do not commit crimes, do not go to church, do not count as a citizen , even as number .. .
These people are accustomed to the unconcerned of the city and the people.

Finding  free hospitality and assistance though us makes them feel welcome as warm as having their own family  in front of their fireplace.

The sailors find  our Stella Maris centers a true "home away from home" . As "foreigners in every port", they  encounter, the warmth of hospitality.
It 'is important to promote a real culture of hospitality "without borders" accepting  them for what is in the deepest respect for their dignity.
Thery are not strangers, only people who you may have not yet met!
Like the sea that "passes", we are for him his family at the moment

Why Does Stella Maris Exsist ???

Through our Stella Maris Centers  a seafarer  will discover  a true "home away from home" where they find, the warmth and  hospitality although  a "foreigners in every port",

Stella Maris Apostolate of the Sea promote a real culture of hospitality "without borders" allowing the seafarer  to maintain their deepest respect for their dignity.

There are no strangers, only people who you may have seen for the first time.

Like the sea that "passes", we are there always for  for him a " family away from home".

The seafarer or fisherman is a "citizen of the hour" that passes for a short time in our ports.

There is a need to put your feet on the ground to rest, to play, to talk, to confide to buy a souvenir for the family to get in touch with loved ones (via telephone, internet or by mail) read the news of their country, but especially to be welcomed and heard.

All this is not easy for those who do not speak our language, our currency has not, he can not move into unfamiliar territory is limited by the security checks.