Stella maris

The title of this article is ambiguous. Further meanings are listed under Stella Maris (disambiguation) .

Mary, star of the sea, stained glass window in the church dedicated to this patronage in Goleen, Ireland

Stella maris ( Latin star of the sea , also Maris stella ) is an invocation of Mary , the mother of Jesus . Under this invocation, she is the patron saint of seafarers and symbolizes the saving star that shows the navigator the direction, as well as the star that shows the individual soul on the “sea of ​​life”.

Origin and use

The celestial bodies Venus , the Pole Star , Sirius and the guiding star of the Pleiades were sometimes considered the star of the sea .

The church father Jerome established the tradition of invoking the Virgin Mary with the attribute Stella maris by interpreting the Hebrew name Mirjam , "bitter sea", from which the Latin Mary goes back, as stilla maris ("sea drop "). It is believed that this term was later misunderstood or reinterpreted as stella maris . It is only documented in this form from the 9th century. The invocation of Stella maris can be found in hymns , antiphons , litanies and other prayers of the Roman Catholic Church , as well as in vocal works. The medieval hymn Ave maris stella , which is variously attributed to Venantius Fortunatus , begins with this invocation:

Ave maris stella, Dei Mater alma atque semper Virgo felix caeli porta.

Sea stars, greetings, God's high mother, always pure virgin, blessed gate to heaven!

Stella maris on a stained glass window of a church in Cénac (France)

In the apostolic letter of Pope John Paul II Stella Maris - on the apostolate of the sea of 1997, he states:

“Stella Maris, star of the sea, is the most popular epithet with which seafarers have always called upon those in whose protection and assistance they trust: the Virgin Mary . Jesus Christ, their son, accompanied his disciples on their fishing boats, stood by them in distress and calmed the storm. In this way, the Church also accompanies people connected to seafaring by taking care of the special spiritual needs of those people who, for various reasons, stay and work at sea. "

The last chapter of the encyclical Spe salvi Pope Benedict XVI. , which is entitled Maria, Star of Hope , closes with the words: "Star of the sea, shine for us and guide us on our way!"

Artistic works entitled Stella Maris

• Hymn Ave maris stella . Text from the 8th or 9th century ( St. Gallen ), melody 11th century.
• Numerous church music settings of the hymn since the 12th century and the polyphonic church music of the 13th and 14th centuries .
• Arrangement in a piano sonata by Gian Pietro Del Buono from Palermo around 1650.
• A mass op. 141 by Peter Griesbacher (1864–1933).
• “Stella Maris. Musical drama in three acts ”, by Henri Alfred Kaiser , Henry Revers, 1910.
• Film from the film in 1918 , directed by Marshall Neilan Mary Pickford in the lead role.
• A setting of the text 'De Beata Maria' by Gauthier de Coincy (1178–1236) by Dorothée Hahne (2002).
• Ave maris stella setting for voice solo, flute and organ (2004) by Ludger Stühlmeyer . Text based on the Vesper hymn (Marienfest). The tonal language combines the Doric and the third Ashkenazi mode.
• A music album by Dirk Schlömer , 2005.
• Oratorio by Helge Burggrabe , created and premiered for the 1000th anniversary of Chartres Cathedral in autumn 2006.
• Name of the third movement of the string orchestra piece Estrella Distante (2010) by the Swiss composer Andreas Zurbriggen .
• Ave maris stella. Toccata for organ by Emanuel Schmidt. Berliner Chormusik-Verlag / Edition Musica Rinata , 2014.

• Popular music works:
  • Piece by the German music group Einstürzende Neubauten from the album Ende Neu (1996)
  • An album by the US group Zwan : Mary Star of the Sea
  • A song by the German medieval metal band Ingrimm from the album "Böses Blut".
  • The twelfth track on Moby's album Destroyed (2011) .
  • A piece by the French soundscape duo Ab Ovo from the album "Empreintes".

Churches and other buildings with the patronage of Stella Maris

→ Main article : Stella Maris Church

Stella Maris in Porto Cervo

Maria Meeresstern in Werder (Havel)

Catholic churches with this patronage are mostly in port or coastal cities.

Churches in Germany and Switzerland

• Stella Maris in Binz on Rügen
• Maria Meeresstern on Borkum
• Stella Maris on Norderney
• Maria Meeresstern , in Sellin on Rügen
• Maria Meeresstern in Werder (Havel)
• Maris Stella Monastery , in Wettingen in Switzerland, (1227–1841)

Other facilities

The following institutions are also subordinate to the patronage

• Catholic primary school in Bremerhaven ,
• Catholic seaman's mission Stella Maris and
• Specialist clinic Maria Meeresstern on Timmendorfer Strand.

Another occurrence

• Stella Maris Competition , an international singing competition in which up-and-coming stars from eight of the world's most renowned opera houses take part
• Maria Meerstern mine, a mine
• A film role in the 1991 tragic comedy How crazy and from the bottom of my heart
• A central figure of the Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson
• The name of the first Jesuit spaceship in the novel The Sparrow (1996) by Mary Doria Russell
• Song of the Einstürzenden Neubauten & Meret Becker Stella Maris (1996)

See also

Commons : Our Lady, Star of the Sea  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Evening - and morning star , Pole Star
• Course (navigation) , safe haven
• Madonna of the Seas

Web links

• Apostolic Exhortation Stella Maris
• About the invocation of Maria Meeresstern

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Manfred Görg : Mirjam. In: Manfred Görg, Bernhard Lang (Ed.): New Bible Lexicon. Volume 2: H - N. Benziger, Zurich et al. 1995, ISBN 3-545-23075-9 , Sp. 816.
2. ↑ Translation in Gotteslob No. 578 (in different stanzas)
3. ↑ http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/de/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20071130_spe-salvi.html , No. 49
4. ↑ Stella Maris Competition