Ministry with the Deaf introduces ASL prayer series

As part of Deaf Awareness Month, which is observed in September, the Archdiocese of Newark’s Ministry with the Deaf has launched a new prayer initiative on the archdiocese’s social media channels.

The American Sign Language (ASL) prayer series debuted on Aug. 31 and will unfold over the following four weeks. After introducing the Ministry with the Deaf and the prayer series in the first video, Auxiliary Bishop Pedro Bismarck Chau, who leads the ministry, will appear in weekly installments to pray the Lord’s Prayer and the Hail Mary, and to inform viewers about services and resources that the Archdiocese of Newark offers Deaf Catholics.

Bishop Chau will also invite viewers to “build a Church and communities where everyone, including Deaf and hearing Catholics, can pray, worship, and serve together.” The bishop presents all three videos in American Sign Language with English subtitles.

New ASL prayer videos will appear each week during the month of September on the Archdiocese of Newark’s social media channels, including Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube.

A long history of serving Deaf Catholics

The history of organized ministry with Deaf Catholics in the archdiocese goes back to 1937, when Archbishop Thomas J. Walsh founded the Mt. Carmel Guild’s Department for the Deaf. Through the guild, the first Deaf center was opened that year at Saint Patrick’s Pro-Cathedral in Newark. The ministry served “those who have a need regardless of race or creed.”

During that same period, Father Stephen J Landherr, C.Ss.R., pioneered catechetical work with Deaf children, and taught American Sign Language at the archdiocesan seminary.

When the Mt. Carmel Guild was reorganized in the mid-50s, Father John P. Hourihan became the first priest to be assigned full-time to serve the Deaf Apostolate. Over the next seven years, it was expanded to include four county centers, catechetical schools, diagnostic clinics, and teacher training initiatives.

The current Ministry for the Deaf hopes to revive that sense of mission and service as it continues to serve Deaf Catholics throughout the Archdiocese of Newark and “to support the full, active, and meaningful participation of Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals in the life of the Church, honoring their Baptismal calling.”

“We are committed to addressing the isolation many experience within our faith community,” the ministry has stated.

A ministry with personal significance

For Bishop Chau, who has been celebrating Mass in American Sign Language since 2008, his work as chaplain to the Deaf community has a deeply personal significance.

At the time of his episcopal ordination, he explained that his interest in ministry for the Deaf began even before he entered the seminary through his relationship with his Deaf sister, Ana Maria. She had become involved with a Baptist group that brought her to their church and offered other support, the bishop explained. “That’s when I realized that we in the Catholic Church needed to have this same kind of ministry,” he said.

The National Catholic Office for the Deaf has estimated that 96% of Deaf Catholics do not attend Mass regularly due to a lack of sign languages services.

Bishop Chau is currently the only priest in the archdiocese who knows American Sign Language, though there are ASL interpreters who assist at the cathedral and three other parishes. Among his goals as an auxiliary bishop, he would like to expand the Ministry for the Deaf, counter the misperceptions and prejudices surrounding deafness, and encourage more priests to learn American Sign Language.

You can view Bishop Chau’s introductory video to the ASL prayer series below:

Visit the Archdiocese of Newark’s Ministry for the Deaf to learn more, including a list of host parishes and other services.

Editor’s note: Brianna LoSardo, Archivist of the Archdiocese of Newark, contributed research used in this article.

Featured image: Auxiliary Bishop Pedro Bismarck Chau addresses Deaf Catholics in a new video. The Ministry with the Deaf launched its new ASL prayer series on the Archdiocese of Newark’s social media channels on August 31. (YouTube screenshot / Archdiocese of Newark)