Stella Maris inaugurates a new center in the Port of Palma to support seafarers

This support facility will, for now, be available on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and will operate with the collaboration of a group of nine volunteers. It will provide maritime workers with internet access to communicate with their families, receive packages, and offer spiritual support, among other services.

The inauguration of the facility, located at number 12 on Contramoll-Mollet Street in Palma, was presided over on the morning of Thursday, February 6, by the Bishop of Mallorca, Sebastià Taltavull, who blessed the new space.

"We want Stella Maris to be a presence that dignifies people and their work, ensuring they are cared for in all circumstances, including their professional difficulties," said Taltavull, reaffirming the diocese's commitment to advancing the project.

The director of Stella Maris in Mallorca, Nadal Bernat, recalled that with this new addition, the international Church organization is now present in 351 ports worldwide, where it aims to be a "kind and welcoming presence" for people who often "come from very far away."

Bernat contrasted the softness of the hands of most workers—such as those in a shopping center, a bank branch, or a courthouse—with the roughness of those who practice their trade at sea.

"We come to help make these rough hands softer, to facilitate human connections among seafarers, to be a balm that soothes and nurtures these interpersonal relationships. We come humbly to learn and to be a source of fresh water for those who wish to be heard and to refresh themselves in life," he emphasized.

According to Bernat, in statements to the media, the primary beneficiaries of the center will be cruise ship workers arriving in Palma and fishermen based there.

He also took the opportunity to thank the collaboration of the current president of the Balearic Islands Port Authority (APB), Javier Sanz—who attended the inauguration—and the former officeholder when the procedures to establish the Stella Maris center in the Port of Palma began, the recently deceased Francesc Antich.

"Nowadays, what port doesn't have a sustainability plan?" asked the national director of Stella Maris, Ricard Rodríguez. "Seafarers are part of the social sustainability of the port, and we must prioritize their well-being. Without ships, there is no port, but without crew, neither," he concluded.