Priest sails the Mediterranean Sea and rescues thousands

'Seventy percent of them are Christians fleeing from persecution in their countries.'

Father Alberto Gaton, the chaplain of the Spanish ship "Frigate Navarra" sailing the Mediterranean Sea, has been rescuing those running from Christian persecution and human trafficking.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Between September 2016 and January 2017, Fr. Gaton and his team have rescued over 3,000 people.

They worked as part of the European Union's anti-migrant smuggling operation in the Mediterranean Sea.

Their ship included 208 sailors and were working as part of Operation Sophia.

According to CNA, Fr. Gaton explained the thousands of people rescued from the sea were happy to follow his lead.

"Seventy percent of them are Christians fleeing from persecution in their countries," he explained. "They're fleeing persecution from Booko Haram in Nigeria, the terrorists groups, the situation in their countries.

"We were also collaborating to rescue people that the mafias have abandoned to their fate in the sea - we on the Frigate Navarra, along with other NGOs and other European naval forces, collaborated to make rescues. [Operation Sophia is meant to] combat the mafias which are trafficking in souls on the Mediterranean."

Those part of Operation Sophia will "always help to rescue those at sea, because they are the poor people of the land who embark from all points in Africa hoping to reach the coasts of Europe and who many times end up on the bottom of the sea."

Fr. Gaton reported hundreds of people take to makeshift boats made of rubber and wood to cross the Mediterranean Sea.

"Heavy storms frequently come up, and if we're not there, they would die," the chaplain added. It is often the result of rough weather, cheaply made boats and other bad sea conditions.

Fr. Gaton explained his first rescue, saying: "once inside the ship, they began to dance, it was a happy day because nobody died. It was marvelous to see those who were rescued safe and sound dancing."

Through the joyous occasion, Fr. Gaton explained there was also profound sadness at the sight of "what point this world has come to in wickedness of heart, which when God is forgotten, is capable of sending little children, pregnant mothers and babies in inflatable boats that are like shoe boxes, floating coffins with no other fate than to be rescued or lost."

When recovering refugees, Fr. Gaton's team admitted: "The first thing is to recover from injuries, have something to eat, treat dehydration...But meanwhile I am always there with the families, with the sick."

One elderly refugee asked Fr. Gaton to bless her and the girl she cared for.

"The parents of the little girl had gone missing before the rescue and now it was the old woman who took care of her. She just asked me to bless them. We prayed together in the infirmary."

During a different rescue, a Protestant pastor was fleeing his homeland to fight Christian persecution.

"I helped him in everything I could," Fr. Gaton stated, adding most "just want a prayer, a smile."

During his time on the Frigate Navarra, Fr. Gaston said he has seen a growth in faith from both the crew and the refugees they rescue.

Many celebrate their First Communion and sailors take marriage or Confirmation prep classes.

"I always say that at sea, the atheists become agnostics; the agnostics become non-practicing Catholics, and the non-practicing, at least for a while, they practice. That's my experience."

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