For the staff, crew and passengers arriving here at or near the end of their journeys, it can be a vital point of intersection and respite after a long voyage � a place to make a phone call, check email, stretch the legs or simply enjoy a meal off-ship.

Now, thanks to local volunteers, donated materials and a months-long effort to refurbish and update what has been a dormant Catholic chapel space, there will be a new spiritual oasis among the commercial and recreational activity here.

The Stella Maris Catholic Center for seafarers is reopening following several years of closure. It will once again serve as a place for anyone at the Port of Miami � mariners and passengers alike � to find spirituality, conversation and helpful resources along with the Catholic sacraments on a regular basis.

Father Roberto Cid, pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Miami Beach who has been overseeing the Stella Maris project and will serve as its director and chaplain, welcomed a small group of volunteers and supporters Jan. 5 for the Catholic Center�s soft opening. The afternoon included tours of the facilities and a celebration of Mass for supporters � as well as one or two Filipino mariners from a Disney cruise ship who wandered in to say hello.

Reopening the center has been a special project of St. Patrick Parish in terms of clergy staffing and other startup support. Overall, re-establishing a Catholic presence and chapel at the local sea and airports has been an ongoing goal for Miami Archbishop Thomas G. Wenksi, according to Father Cid.

�The archbishop was eager to open this center and the priests at St. Patrick�s are helping celebrate the sacraments in cooperation with the Archdiocese of Miami,� he said. After talking with the archbishop about the project, Father Cid first received the keys to the trailer space in early summer of last year. 

�From then we began to clean it up and fix the things that needed to be fixed and to call for volunteers to staff the place,� he said. 

Located near the Port of Miami�s Terminals F-J, the Stella Maris chapel is located near tennis courts and a swimming pool associated with the port�s Seaman's Center. 

The trailer space sits on property that is provided to the Miami Archdiocese by Miami-Dade County and has been equipped with new furniture, kitchen area, computers, and the chapel�s new appointments and sacred objects, including a custom-made resin image of Our Lady of the Sea that Father Cid imported from Argentina and which greets visitors as they enter the trailer.

Lounge furniture was donated from St. Patrick�s; four computer stations will be activated this month for mariners to stay connected with family and friends; and a local shipping company official donated security cameras.

In the chapel, the Stations of the Cross were preserved from the now-closed St. Francis Xavier Church in Overtown, while the wooden altar bearing a mariners emblem and reading �Apostolatus Maris� was hand-made by a local craftsman. Other statues of Our Lady of Mercy and St. Joseph have been donated.

In the lounge space, Father Cid also hung a series of framed photos from the Vatican photo archives showing Pope Benedict XVI in various travels on or near the sea. 

Archbishop Wenski is expected to rededicate the Stella Maris Chapel and tour the space in late January or early February. Volunteers are sought to staff the center which is expected to operate seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

�It was the hand of God and the intercession of St. Joseph because the archbishop wants this place not only (to be) a chapel for distribution of the sacraments but also a welcoming center where any seafarers can find their home away from home, come and relax and have a cup of coffee and find a friendly face and some care through our volunteers and services,� Father Cid said. �Our main emphasis is on seafarers both on the cargo ships and cruise ships.�

It is also hoped that clergy would sometimes be able to visit the cargo ships to bring the sacraments to those who cannot come ashore due to immigration issues. 

On hand for the chapel�s open house were its longtime priest-chaplain, Father Jose Paz, now retired, and Sister Myrna Tordillo of the Scalabrini Sisters, national director of the Apostleship of the Sea at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, an entity which coordinates Catholic chaplaincy programs and spaces at seaports nationwide. 

The Catholic center at the Port of Miami was established back in 1978 although it sometimes may have seemed like a well-kept secret, according to Father Paz. He said it will take time to re-establish the Stella Maris presence at the port among the rotations of seafarers who come and go.

�Even before I was a priest I was familiar with two big harbors in Spain and I attended a seminar on apostleship in the sea,� Father Paz said, adding that over the years he had an opportunity to have a rich ministry with seafarers in his native Spain, Cuba and Florida � especially in their time of personal need.

Father Paz remembered that following an accident on a cargo ship, he went to bless the place and console family and co-workers. In another instance years ago, he and then-Bishop Wenski visited the crew of a cargo ship following an accidental death of Filipino crewmen. 

�I was happy to be an instrument to help them in small ways or with material things because many of them are poor, and also there was the spiritual activity,� Father Paz said. �We had many baptisms right here, and there were weddings that we had for them in the local parishes too.�

Sister Tordillo said the reopening of the Stella Maris center is very important in terms of Miami�s role as one of the busiest seaports in the state of Florida. �This is a very important port because of the shipping traffic here,� she said. �There will be many seafarers who will avail (themselves) of the services of this center and will mark an important presence of the archdiocese to the maritime community.�