Page 28 - Port of Baltimore - Issue 4 - 2024

Caring for the
‘Invisible Strangers’
From Police Officer
to First Lay Director
Pope John Paul II called seafarers
“the invisible strangers in our midst,” but Middleton and his team see
them clearly. He began volunteering with Apostleship of the Sea in 2009 after his wife opened a children’s consignment shop next to the AOS Stella Maris International Seafarer Center. Former director Monsignor John FitzGerald became a friend and got Middleton involved in the ministry that supports mariners.
“Whenever he'd see me, I'd say hello and he’d ask if I could help carry
a box in for him,” said Middleton, a former Baltimore City police officer. “He set the hook and slowly reeled
me in. He asked if I’d be interested
in volunteering to visit ships one day
a week, which at some point turned
to three days week. I began taking on more and more responsibilities as a volunteer until the point he decided
to retire [in 2019]. He and Archbishop Lori decided that I would be the man to take over.”
The organization’s first lay director, Middleton says he doesn’t like the water. He’s never been on a cruise
[26] The Port of Baltimore ■ ISSUE 4 / 2024
PORT PERSON
APOSTLESHIP OF THE SEA’S ANDREW MIDDLETON SUPPORTS SEAFARERS — ON THE DALI AND BEYOND
BY DERON SNYDER / Photo by Donovan Eaton Photography
For whatever reason, Andrew Middleton couldn’t sleep the night after taking the captain and a crewman from the cargo ship Dali on a quick shopping trip before their vessel was set to embark from Baltimore. He was lying in bed awake around 1 a.m. when he heard “this loud rumbling.”
“Initially I thought it was thunder,” said Middleton, Director of Apostleship of the Sea for the Archdiocese of Baltimore. “It lasted for 20-25 seconds and then it got quiet again. I lay there for a while and decided to get up and get my day started.”
Within seconds of turning on the radio, Middleton learned that the Francis Scott Key Bridge had collapsed after being struck by the Dali. “My first thought was, ‘I was just with those guys yesterday,’” he said about the March 26 tragedy. “I sent text messages to the crewmembers asking if everyone was OK. One of them responded within a few minutes. And that started what ultimately ended up being a very, very long day.”