January 24th: St. Francis de Sales and Deaf People

Among various honors, St. Francis de Sales is remembered as a patron saint for Deaf people.  Four centuries ago, he showed deep concern for conveying the Faith to one individual with a hearing loss (cf, Father Thomas Dailey, OSFS of DeSales University).  

How Many People Have Hearing Losses?

Estimating the numbers of people with hearing loss is challenging!  And how a hearing loss impacts a particular person depends upon the type/severity of the loss, what sort of amplification is possible, the age at onset, and educational/rehabilitation strategies, among other factors.  It is even more difficult to estimate the number of people who rely on American Sign Language (ASL).  

• Among those with all types and severities of hearing loss, Jerome Schein and Marcus Delk (National Census of the Deaf Population, 1974) defined "Deaf" people as those whose hearing loss was so severe that they could not hear/understand speech. Schein and Delk found 0.2% of the general population to be "prevocationally deaf" (i.e., to have become deaf prior to 19 years of age).  They also found 90% to have hearing parents and 90% to have hearing children.  Up until the present time, many have assumed that prevocationally deaf people constitute the majority of ASL users. 
  
  "The Schein and Delk (1974) NCDP report remains the ultimate source for data-based estimates of how many people use ASL in the United States....According to Schein and Delk (1974), the total prevocationally deaf population – civilian, noninstitutionalized persons of all ages – was estimated to be 410,522 persons in 1971....Schein and Delk (1974) provided evidence that there may have been as many as 500,000 people, regardless of hearing status, who signed at home in 1972" (How Many People Use ASL in the United States?  Why Estimates Need Updating, 2/21/05).

• As of 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau reported 0.5% of individuals over the age of 15 to have a severe hearing loss, while 0.6% of those under 15 had difficulty hearing conversations.  Less formal estimates of how many people utilized ASL varied between a half million and two million.   

We follow a Shepherd who would go in search of just one lost sheep!  Hence, four centuries ago, St. Francis de Sales showed deep concern for conveying the Faith to just one individual with a hearing loss.

How Do We Meet the Needs of People with Hearing Losses Who Rely on ASL?

There are few priests across the country who are fluent in American Sign Language (ASL).  Few Sunday Masses can be celebrated in ASL; Sunday Masses are also conveyed by a sign language interpreter. 

Each Sunday, Mass is celebrated in ASL or conveyed by an interpreter in Northeast Philadelphia:

• 1st Sunday: Our Lady of Ransom, Philadelphia, 12:15 pm (celebrated in ASL)
• 2nd Sunday: Our Lady of Ransom, Philadelphia, 12:15 pm (conveyed by a sign language interpreter)
• 3rd Sunday: Our Lady of Ransom, Philadelphia, 12:15 pm (celebrated in ASL) 
• 4th Sunday: Our Lady of Ransom, Philadelphia, 12:15 pm (conveyed by a sign language interpreter)
• 5th Sunday: Our Lady of Ransom, Philadelphia, 12:15 pm (conveyed by a sign language interpreter)

And in Bucks County,

• 1st Sunday: St. Joseph, Warrington, 10:00 am (conveyed by a sign language interpreter)
• 2nd Sunday: Our Lady of Mt.Carmel, Doylestown 10:30 am (conveyed by a sign language interpreter)
• 3rd Sunday: St. Joseph, Warrington, 10:00 am (conveyed by a sign language interpreter)

And across the river in the nearby Trenton area,

• 1st Sunday: Holy Angels, So.Broad St in Hamilton, 8:30 am (conveyed by a sign language interpreter)
• 2nd Sunday: Holy Angels, So.Broad St in Hamilton, 8:30 am (conveyed by a sign language interpreter)
• 3rd Sunday: Holy Angels, So.Broad St in Hamilton, 8:30 am (conveyed by a sign language interpreter)
• 4th Sunday: St. Gregory the Great, Hamilton Square, 10:30 am (conveyed by a sign language interpreter)
• 4th Sunday: Holy Angels, So.Broad St in Hamilton, 8:30 am (conveyed by a sign language interpreter)
• 5th Sunday: Holy Angels, So.Broad St in Hamilton, 8:30 am (conveyed by a sign language interpreter)

The gifts of our few ASL-fluent priests certainly need to be shared across dioceses for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, special missions, and retreats.

Resources for Teaching the Compendium of the Catechism:

Much of Part One focuses on what we believe, the Apostles Creed (Click for a video of Deacon Patrick Graybill, who is deaf himself.):

 

Much of Part Two focuses on how we celebrate, the Seven Sacraments (Click for a video of Father Chris Klusman, who is deaf himself.  In the second video, Father Mick Depcick, who is deaf himself discusses the Sacrament of Reconciliation):

Much of Part Three focuses on how we live, the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes:

Much of Part Four focuses on how we pray, the Our Father (the Lord's Prayer) ( Click for a video of Father Shawn Carey, who is deaf himself.):