Meet Massachusetts' first deaf priest

From the Boston Herald:

“We need silence to be able to touch souls. . . . God is the friend of silence.” - Mother Teresa

Though the Rev. Shawn P. Carey (pictured) heard his calling to the priesthood silently, the call was insistent enough to resound in his soul.

A Westfield native, Carey is the state’s first deaf priest, and one of its youngest. At 37, he is inspiring parishioners at St. John the Evangelist Church in Hopkinton to hear God’s word differently - by listening with their vision.

His Masses resonate in part because the message he delivers - in American Sign Language - is a blessing to those who cannot hear.

“Disabilities don’t matter,” Carey said through an interpreter at Boston’s archdiocese headquarters in Braintree. “We can feel a spiritual connection no matter what the language. It’s a beautiful thing. People can realize that any person serving God can do anything.”

For Carey, known to parishioners as Father Shawn, the path to the priesthood was a spiritual feat. Growing up, language access to the church was a hurdle for deaf children because of a lack of interpreters in education and religion.

Carey recalls that his parents often sought an interpreter for his religious education, but were unsuccessful. “It was frustrating. We were stuck,” he said. “Then my parents found one tutor. She was a Protestant woman, but she was willing to tutor me so I could receive First Communion.”

He received it alone.

A model student who worked tirelessly to perfect his education, Carey attended Cathedral High School in Springfield, where he was the only deaf student.

“One of the greatest things to happen to me was going to a Catholic high school,” he said.

Because he did not have an interpreter in his classes, Carey worked hard outside class time, going over the subjects with a tutor proficient in sign language. It was after he received his degree from Providence College, where he studied political science and developed an interest in law, that his calling to the priesthood began.

“For my situation, there were different moments, and at each of those different moments I recognized the grace of God,” he said. “People began to ask me if I was going to become a priest.”

While in high school, Carey met a deaf priest, the Rev. Michael B. Medas, who gave a Mass in sign language. He was transformed.

“I could see God’s word through the sign language. It was such a grace-filled experience for me. Through a signing priest, I finally had a more spiritual connection with direct access,” he recalled.

He went on to St. Patrick’s Seminary in Menlo Park, Calif., where for six years he studied and worked to become what he is: the state’s first and only deaf priest.

Carey said many deaf Catholics are isolated from their faith because access is lacking. “There are deaf people from different places who talk about not being able to find a place to worship or receive the sacraments,” he said. “They feel lost. They want access. And they want to connect with God.”

At St. John’s, Carey’s Masses are for everyone, employing an interpreter for both deaf and hearing Catholics who attend. American Sign Language, or ASL, has taken hold of St. John’s parishioners too.

“Yesterday I met a parishioner who said she’s starting to pick up simple signs like Jesus and hallelujah, just by coming to Mass,” he said. He sees it as symbolic for the Catholic Church of tomorrow.

“I see this church as a sign for the future; it’s not about separate communities,” Carey said. “Deaf Catholics go there with the hearing Catholics and the two become one. One community means one body of Christ. St. John’s is a good sign of the future - it’s like a big family here.”