Apostleship of the Sea

The Apostleship of the Sea ministers to the spiritual needs of seamen in the various ports around the world. A colleague of mine belongs to the New Orleans chapter where the priest assigned there occasionally signs on as an "able bodied" seaman (A.B.) to sail with the merchant mariners on their current voyage. Some years ago I belonged to the chapter in the Port of Philadelphia where the chaplain assigned was a blue collar type from the Pennsylvania coal regions. He was assigned to a waterfront parish where he could also minister to longshoremen and waterfront workers. One snowy night his phone rang at 3AM - a young man in his parish called to say his father had died while sitting in his favorite chair and could the padre come to administer the last rites. The priest asked if the young man had notified the funeral director. The lad said he was going to wait until daylight to call him. Raising his voice, the priest directed him to call the undertaker immediately - OR  - they would have to break your father in half with a sledge hammer. Yes, rigor mortis does set in. And so, these men of cloth perform their duties on sea and land.
tjs