For nearly two decades, the Rev. Joe Mulcrone has traveled south to St. Julie Billiart Catholic Church in Tinley Park to lead a monthly Mass for the deaf and hearing impaired using both voice and American Sign Language.
“Unfortunately, most parishes don’t have sign language interpreters,” Mulcrone said. “We get people who literally drive an hour to come for Mass because they want to celebrate in their language, which is American Sign Language.”
The Mass is a natural fit for Mulcrone, director of the Catholic Office of the Deaf, an agency of the Archdiocese of Chicago. He leads another Mass for the deaf at 10:30 a.m. every Sunday at St. Francis Borgia Parish in Chicago.
His office is responsible for coordinating pastoral services for deaf people and their families in the archdiocese, such as advocacy, counseling, religious education, sacramental preparation and information referrals.
“Whatever a parish is supposed to do for its parishioners, that’s what we do for Catholic deaf parishioners,” he explained.
Mulcrone, who was ordained in 1971, started working with the deaf in 1977. Both his grandfather and grandmother were deaf, he said.
Serving deaf Catholics is nothing new in Chicago. Mulcrone said the archdiocese has had a ministry for people who are deaf since 1884. Mainly centered at Holy Family Church on Roosevelt Road, the deaf ministry moved to St. Francis Borgia Parish on the city’s Northwest Side in 1983.
The idea for a Mass for deaf Catholics living south of Chicago was inspired by a deaf couple, Joe and Maryann Kula, who approached Mulcrone and asked about a service closer to home.
“I went looking and kept thinking where could I find a church that had an accessible worship site and good parking, and St. Julie’s name came up,” Mulcrone said.
About 18 years ago, he and others approached the pastor and staff at St. Julie Billiart and asked about using the small chapel once a month.
“The response right away was ‘Why not?’ Ever since then, on the third Sunday of every month we have Mass at 4 p.m. for deaf people who live on the far far South Side,” Mulcrone said.
Catholics who can hear, however, won’t miss anything.
“We voice everything because we sometimes have hearing family members who bring their deaf child, or deaf parents who have hearing kids and bring them. Everything we do at Mass is both signed and voice,” he explained.
Typically between 25 to 50 people attend, depending on the weather and the season. It’s proven so popular that for the last 16 years, an 8 p.m. Christmas Eve Mass is offered. It began with just 16 people, but 85 people attended in 2023.
“It’s become a really good tradition for Christmas Eve,” Mulcrone said.
He said the chapel at St. Julie Billiart works well because it seats up to 80 people.
“It’s close and it’s intimate. We don’t sit in the large body of the church because the deaf would be lost. The chapel is absolutely perfect.”
Mulcrone said the parish has welcoming since the very first service, never charging for the use of its building.
Because he’s already there, Mulcrone leads the regular Mass at 6 p.m. the fourth Sunday of the month, which is one of the reasons he’ll be honored Sunday in the Parish Hall after the evening Mass. It’s part of the parish’s 50th anniversary celebrations. Mulcrone will sign his parts of the later Mass.
The parish’s attitude about the deaf ministry is unusual, he said.
“The deaf notice this because this is not always the experience of deaf people, that they’re always welcome,” he said. “We have had some deaf people who had Mass over the years who have died and asked to have their funeral at St. Julie because they felt like this place welcomed (them).”
One way Mulcrone provides a welcoming atmosphere is to include people in his sermon.
“It’s interesting, for example, reading the Bible because deaf people are visual people,” he said. “They pay much more attention to what Jesus did, not what he said. Because they can visualize what he did.”
The Rev. Tirso Villaverde, priest at St. Julie Billiart, said he was excited when he was assigned to the parish and realized it had a month deaf Mass.
“I was hopeful that I might be able to practice ASL and perhaps get more fluent,” Villaverde said. “I have not yet reached that goal but I am still glad that the parish can serve and proclaim the Gospel to those who are deaf and hard of hearing living in the area.”
Villaverde has a nephew who is hard of hearing whose wife uses a cochlear implant, and both use American Sign Language.
“I know that the deaf and hard of hearing community are truly appreciative of the monthly deaf Mass. I wish we could do more,” Villaverde shared. “However, without more priests who are fluent in ASL it becomes difficult.”
Mulcrone said although he hasn’t been able to recruit any priests to learn ASL, one priest from Ghana is working part time with the deaf, and a seminarian has expressed an interest in the ministry to the deaf.
“Guess what parish he’s from?” he said with a laugh. “St. Julie. God works in God’s ways. He saw it and something hit him.”
Villaverde said he wishes the archdiocese would devote more resources to strengthening the ministry to the deaf.
“Without the ability to understand what is happening at Mass, I am afraid that the deaf and hard of hearing community will be another demographic that the church might lose,” he explained.
The monthly services are an important part of community for the deaf people who may not have seen another deaf person all week, Mulcrone siad.
“Ninety-one percent of deaf children are born into hearing families,” he said. “The idea that they could come to church and see other deaf people, and visit with them, is another appeal.”
Melinda Moore is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
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