Stella Maris deacons bless crew after onboard death

By Peter Finney Jr.
Clarion Herald

When Deacon Wayne Lobell, director of the archdiocesan Stella Maris ministry to seafarers, got the call last Sunday, he knew he had to act quickly: A member of the 19-member Filipino crew of the oil tanker Yufu Crown, sailing up the Mississippi River, had died of a heart attack, thousands of miles from home.

Since it was a Sunday, Deacon Lobell knew his chances of finding a priest to celebrate a Mass aboard ship would be limited, so he asked fellow Deacon Jerry Clark to join him in presiding at a prayer and Communion service aboard the vessel.

By the time the two deacons arrived by shuttle boat to the oil tanker – anchored south of Belle Chasse because of bad storm warnings from Tropical Storm Marco – the body of Romell A. Gibudan, the 48-year-old electrical officer, had already been removed by local authorities for an autopsy.

“We went to the deceased seafarer’s room first and offered the prayer for the dead,” Deacon Lobell said. “Then we did a Communion service for the crew and went to various places around the ship. We blessed everything – every room, the control room, the ballast room, the bedrooms. The crew definitely appreciated it. They were glad we took the time to come.”

Stella Maris (Latin for Star of the Sea) is the archdiocesan agency responsible for the spiritual, emotional and physical needs of sailors who come into the Port of New Orleans. The job has become increasingly challenging during the COVID-19 pandemic because there are fewer opportunities for seafarers to disembark their ships due to health restrictions.

Deacon Lobell said sometimes he acts as a go-between the ship’s management and a seafarer’s family. In one recent example, he was contacted by the family of a seafarer who had been aboard the same ship for more than a year, months after his original contract had expired.

“The family was worried about his health, and we were able to talk to the captain to get things straightened out,” Deacon Lobell said.

Stella Maris used to arrange transportation for the seafarers to shop for personal needs at big-box stores such as Wal-Mart, but that activity also has been severely curtailed because of the coronavirus.

Deacon Lobell and Deacon Clark also serve together in parish ministry at St. Matthew the Apostle Parish in River Ridge. Deacon Lobell said he understands Gibudan’s body will be returned to his family in the Philippines.
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