OUR SEAMENS' HOUSE WILL BE

                           I.   A MEETINGPLACE for seamen without distinction of race, language, nationality or    religion.

                           2.  CENTRE OF PASTORAL AND RELIGIOUS activity's. Also there is a CHAPEL : for all the sacraments and religious practices.

 For the Roman Catholic Church, we are a real parish for seafarers; so there is possibility for marriage, baptism and the eucharist. Celebrations take place in the Chapel, mostly on Saturdays and Sundays.

When people ask for it, we go to the ship to celebrate on board at anytime and any day.

3. CENTRE OF SOCIAL SERVICE : not with standing the fact that it is not official, indeed there were made many eflórts as there are:

    SHIPVISITING : daily - mostly in the morning - the Chaplains and their assistants visit the seafarers on board of their ships. It means that they will show that they are present for seaferers, and that they (the seaferers) can always refer to them (the Chaplains). Chaplains are there when they need them and seamen must know this.

High points in Religious life during the year : Eastern and Christmas demand special attention and care. Most of all they are unforgettable evenings with seaferers of all grades, races, religions, colors and languages.

    VISITS TO THE PATIENTS IN HOSPITAL : There is a team of volonteers, who regulary visit the hospitals of Antwerp and its neigbourhood, to find out if there are seamen who need our help anyway. Sometimes it will be a short visit with our greetings, either a little bouquet mostly books or magazines are given in all kind of languages.

During Christmas and Easter Time, they receive special visits, where they get flowers and presents.

                                               LIBRARY : Our centre has also of a special public library for seamen. This was completely updated at 1994. It gives a special service to the Belgian Merchant Shipping (Navy) : that is (to say) to exchange books. On board they change boxes with books every time a ship is coming to the Port of Antwerp. Those boxes containe principally books in French and Dutch. Seamen on holiday, but who's ship never comes to Antwerp also have the possibility tó borrow books. Because the library is public, it is _also accessible to the wider public.

                                               SPORT-EVENTS : The Port of Antwerp has the reputation of staying several years at the top of all world-ports for the number of footballgames between seamen. Not only the sportfield, but also the material : clothes, footballs, referees, showers.._ are used freely.

Every year the I.Z.A. and the Scandinavian Seamen Churches organise some competitions.

T.V. ROOM : There is also a special t.v. room.

INTERNET :  Use of Internet

SHOP AND PHONE-CALL : When in town all shops and post offices are closed, we open a little shop to give the occasion to the seamen to buy stamps, papers, cards and things that they need as soap, toothpaste and so on.

The phone is in daily use, that's normal because that is the way that seamen make contact with their family.