CNA Staff, 13 January, 2025 / 3:15 pm (ACI Africa).
The Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian naval ship named after the 15th-century explorer that inspired the name “America,” has been designated a 2025 Jubilee church.
Archbishop Santo Marcianò of the Military Ordinariate of Italy officially designated the ship as a jubilee church for 2025, according to a Jan. 9 statement from the ship’s press office.
He explained that the ship’s chaplain, Don Mauro Medaglini, “will have the task of accompanying the sailors in this precious time of the jubilee. During its long navigation, the Vespucci has always had the presence of several chaplains who have alternated, silently but very effectively, accompanying the spiritual life of the crew, and they will do so in a particular way in this year of the Jubilee of Hope.”
The ship, which dates back to 1931, has been touring the world as a cultural ambassador for Italy since July 2023. During its journey, the Amerigo Vespucci has stopped in places including Los Angeles; Tokyo; Mumbai, India; Doha, Qatar; and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, among others.
Despite not having a designated chapel onboard, the ship’s chaplain is able to celebrate Mass on the quarterdeck, a structure raised above the deck, when weather permits, or in an atrium inside.
