Deaf Services and Donor Unite to Share the Sacraments in American Sign Language

With the kind gift of one donor, over 50 members of the Archdiocese of Atlanta’s deaf community gathered for a special Palm Sunday Mass and Reconciliation service celebrated in American Sign Language (ASL). Those attending also received the joyous news that this donor’s gift will also ensure deaf Catholics receive pastoral and sacramental care in ASL for years to come.

The Office of Deaf Services, part of the Archdiocese of Atlanta’s Disabilities Ministry, has a mission to accommodate full access to the sacraments and the full experience of the Catholic faith for deaf individuals in their language. In the United States, over half a million people communicate through ASL, which is often cited as the third most used language in the U.S., after English and Spanish.

However, providing the necessary language support for the deaf community in the archdiocese can be difficult. Not only are a small number of professionally trained and certified ASL interpreters called upon to serve all of north and central Georgia, many of whom work full-time jobs on top of interpreting, but interpreting Scripture and liturgical language requires special training. Still, the greatest challenge for deaf Catholics is that there are no deaf or signing priests in the Archdiocese of Atlanta. The Office of Deaf Services must call upon priests from outside the state to celebrate Mass and provide the sacraments fully in ASL.

There are only 7 deaf priests in the United States, and only a few more who are fluent in ASL. Despite the coordination needed to schedule from such a small pool of priests, Deaf Services aims to provide quarterly Mass and Reconciliation fully in ASL. Thankfully, Father Bill Keyes of Milwaukee was available this year to provide both Mass and Reconciliation on Palm Sunday. Traveling to and from Atlanta all in one day, a donor generously paid for his round-trip airfare.  

Father Bill celebrated Mass and offered reconciliation to one of the largest gatherings Deaf Services has seen. Two deaf individuals were able to experience their first reconciliation. One was a young parishioner of St. Patrick in Norcross, and the other was a 22-year-old woman who recently immigrated from the Philippines. She has been supported by two young leaders in the deaf community from Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Peachtree City and is on her way to receiving her first Holy Communion.  

Following the Palm Sunday Mass and Service, many individuals and families stayed to socialize. Two families of deaf children even exchanged numbers for a future play date. Gathered together, they then received the wonderful news that the same donor who supported Father Bill’s travel also donated $10,000 to provide ASL training to a priest or seminarian in the Archdiocese of Atlanta. Their joy was palpable. All were incredibly thankful for this gift and excited about what this generous support means for the future of the faith in the deaf Catholic community.  

Learn more about the Disabilities Ministry in the Archdiocese of Atlanta 

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