Archdiocese of Denver

13 SPECIAL EDITION | ARCHBISHOP'S CATHOLIC APPEAL the congregation that includes fellow blind and deaf parishioners. St. Bernadette has become a beacon for Catholics in the metro Denver area who happen to be blind or deaf because it offers this version of a multi-language commu- nit y that meets its members with the method they can receive Christ. The church 's previous pastor was widely known for his knowledge of ASL, but he retired in 2020. Current pastor Father Joe McLagan is trying to carry on the church 's distinct identit y by learning ASL to serve his f lock the best way he can. "It's a priorit y for me to learn to give Reconciliation in [ASL]," McLagan said. "A person can pull out their phone and provide a confession of their sins, but it feels more authentic if a person who is deaf can confess in their language." There are a handful of ASL interpreters at the church, but the need for more is great. It's among the top five most used languages in the United States, said Deacon Hal Goldwire, a deacon at St. Bernadette who is also an ASL interpreter. ASL is not a language of word-for-word translations, it comes in concepts of one or t wo signs that express a thought. "There's something really powerful to watch a signed mass when the priest is doing it," Goldwire said. "When I watched the mass signed, it brought the mass to a whole new level for me — not to just hear the words, but to see it and hear it." Goldwire has an affinit y for the language and appre- ciates the beaut y of it. After having a grandmother and father with hearing aids, his daughter was born with one hearing ear who became musician of the year for Regis Jesuit High School and played for the pep band at Creighton Universit y. She now works at Madison Square Gardens. He always wanted to learn ASL but was never pre- sented with the opportunit y until he volunteered to attend an immersive sign language retreat. "All the parts of the body make up the body of Christ," Goldwire said. The Archdiocese [of Denver] has made a great commitment to serve the underserved and help those who have been overlooked in the past." "Christ the servant, was not the servant of the first class, but a servant for the whole ark," he added. Yochim has known braille since second grade and began as a lector at St. Bernadette in 2019. "I just think it's a very spirit-loving church…you can truly feel the Holy Spirit," Yochim said. "People are really involved, so nice and so loving." A friend of Yochim used to t ype out the Bible verses for him on a braille t ypewriter until he began receiving his liturgical texts from Xavier Societ y for the Blind, a nonprofit providing Catholic braille materials for more than 120 years. (Read more about Xavier Societ y for Blind in the sidebar on page 15.) A cradle Catholic, Yochim always dreamed of being a church lector. After reading more about his faith, he became a catechist and is now part of the church team who teaches the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA). When someone experiences a mass at St. Bernadette, that person is in touch with all parts of humanity, Gold- wire said. ⊲

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