GLOUCESTER -- Gus Sanfilippo was like Al Cottone's little brother.

Sanfilippo was the captain of the Lily Jean, the iconic Gloucester fishing vessel that vanished with its seven crew members off Cape Ann on the morning of Jan. 30.

Cottone, executive director of the Gloucester Fisheries Commission, and Sanfilippo had known each other their whole lives. Sanfilippo was a fifth-generation fisherman who, along with the Lily Jean, was featured in the History Channel series "Nor'Easter Men," which chronicled the harsh lives of New England fishermen.

"Very skilled captain, very skilled crew," Cottone said. "So whatever happened was quick and catastrophic, and I don't think that there's anything anyone on that boat could have done."

After covering 1,000 square miles over the course of 24 hours, the Coast Guard called off the search after finding debris and recovering one of the dead in the frigid water. The bitter cold and stormy sea made rescue efforts difficult. Cottone said that the Lily Jean is the worst shipwreck Gloucester has seen in half a century. The sinking of the Andrea Gail in 1991, immortalized by the book and movie "The Perfect Storm," killed six crewmen.

For Cottone, things in Gloucester will never be the same without the Lily Jean, which was a local fixture for decades.

"We're tight-knit as it is, as a fishing community," Cottone told The Pilot. "When something like this happens, not just a fishing community, but the whole area, will rally around the families and the friends and help them grieve and help them understand why these things happen."

At times like this, St. Ann Church is where the community goes to grieve. The church was the site of a memorial Mass for those who perished on the Lily Jean, celebrated by Father Jim Achadinha on Feb. 1.

"Mass is community," Cottone said. "Church is community. Everyone getting together, sharing their feelings, getting it all out, expressing your feelings. And this is the vessel to do it."

Mourners trudged through mushy snow and patches of salt to enter the church, so packed that dozens of people crowded the vestibule. The sound of "Amazing Grace" filled the shadowy sanctuary during the opening procession. Counselors were present at the Mass to console those overcome by grief. The families of each of the seven victims lit candles at a memorial in front of the altar. A small table was crowded with photos of those who were lost.

Father Achadinha said that their lives "have been entrusted to the sea." Beside their smiling faces was a large photo of the Lily Jean, resting on an easel. The responsorial psalm was Psalm 130: "Out of the depths, I cry to you O Lord."

In his homily, Father Achadinha said that the Catholic churches of Gloucester and Rockport are closer to Jesus than any other church in the world, because Jesus's first followers were fishermen.

"When you cross that bridge into Gloucester, automatically, fishing becomes a part of our blood," he said.

He said that fishermen and women leave their families with a kiss, a hug, an "I love you," or an "I'll see you soon" before heading out on dangerous waters. Their families are left behind, anxiously awaiting their return.

"What joy there is when we can see that boat on the horizon coming into port," he said. "But we also know from the history of the good people of Gloucester and Rockport, from the good people of so many fishing ports on our coasts, we know very well that sometimes we don't see that boat coming home."

It may seem, he said, that the victims are permanently separated from their families.

"These fishermen, these on board the Lily Jean, because they belong to Christ, they are not separated from us," he said. "The sea cannot separate them from us. Death will not separate them from us, because they are with Christ."

He knows that the families want to hear their loved ones' voices, feel their embraces, and watch them set sail on new voyages. He told them that "this moment of pain and grief" will not separate them from their loved ones.

"That's why we lit these candles, because light for us always represents goodness," he said. "Light for us always represents that they are still alive in a new place, yes, experiencing a new harbor, yes, but they are still alive because they belong to Christ. And nothing separates us ever from Christ."

Every single person in Gloucester and Rockport has been impacted by the tragedy, he said. The pain of losing someone at sea is something that many in the community know well. The sinking of the Lily Jean is a fresh reminder of old losses. Father Achadinha told the assembly that those on the Lily Jean now have "a safe harbor" in Heaven. He finished his homily by reading the poem "We Remember Them" by Sylvan Kamens and Rabbi Jack Riemer.

The sinking of the Lily Jean is the most devastating shipwreck Father Achadinha has seen since he arrived in Gloucester. Many of his parishioners are friends and family of the victims, or fellow fishermen who have experienced similar disasters.

"We all know someone directly impacted," he told The Pilot.

He was preparing for a separate funeral Mass on the morning of Jan. 30 when he heard the news of the sinking from city officials and members of the Fishermen's Wives Association.

"I felt punched in the gut," he said.

The hardest part is not having the words to console the families.

"And that's okay," he said. "It is more important to be present. To bring the consoling presence of the risen Christ by sitting with them. Praying with them. Holding their hands. A hug. And often I am strengthened by the faith and resilience of these families."

As Father Achadinha celebrated the Mass, the sun set outside. The inside of the church grew darker, the stained-glass windows duller in their glow. After Mass, he read words written by a mother who lost her son aboard the Lily Jean. The message began with the words "They didn't get to say goodbye."

"As a person that tends to look at things analytically," she wrote, she realizes that there are at least two things that link Earth and Heaven. The first is love, "which transcends from Earth to Heaven as our love is carried by the crew members, as they are in Heaven, and their love likewise is carried by us here."

The second is the prayers of those left behind.

"So in our prayers to God, we ask him to relay a message to the crew," she wrote. "God, please tell the crew they are greatly loved by us. We will carry on and make them proud."

Father Achadinha used incense on the photographs, "these memories, these stories," and let the smoke rise like the prayers of the assembly rising to Heaven.

"May the waves of death give way to the calm of eternal life, and may Christ, the lord of sea and land, bring them safely to the everlasting shores of Heaven."

Cottone first heard about what happened to the Lily Jean when a friend called him and told him that the ship's EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) had gone off. The EPIRB is stored in a secure cradle and is activated if it leaves the cradle.

"We didn't really panic at first, and as time went on, we realized that it was something bad, because there was no communication with the boat," he said. "There was none of that, and the day just imploded from there."

He operates a small fishing boat himself. It's hard for him to explain why fishermen like him and Sanfilippo continue to do the job, despite the risks.

"I almost think people like myself and my fellow fishermen are genetically predisposed to be on the water and doing what we do," he said, adding, "We still do it because of the draw. That's what we love to do. That's who we are. And I can tell you one thing, speaking for the captain of the Lily Jean, I know that he died doing what he loved to do."