The Deaf Chaplaincy has overall responsibility on behalf of the Bishop of Auckland, for the Pastoral Care and support for the deaf, hearing impaired and those involved with them.
Working with:
- Catholic Deaf Community to discern pastoral priorites and set goals
- volunteers within the Catholic Deaf Community to arrange appropriate liturgical and sacramental celebrations
- provides appropriate educational programmes and training for members of the Catholic Deaf Community so as to empower them to take active roles in prayer, luturgies and sacramental celebrations.
Brief History of Deaf Catholic Education
Abbe Charles Michel De L'Eppe 1712 - 1780, born in Versaille into a wealthy family. A priest for 25 years.
Abbe first met the Deaf people when he was on a routine house visit where he met two sisters in trying to talk to them he got no response. Their mother told him they were Deaf. He then decided they have a right to an education so offered to look after them and educate them under his care. He learned sign language from the sisters and in 1775 Abbe L'Eppe started the first school for Deaf in Paris.
He cared for the Deaf children at his own expense using $300 of his income of $400. He received no help from the Government until his death.
Abbe Roch Sicard 1742 - 1822
Sicard was chosen by the Archbishop of Bordeau to be trained by De L'Eppe to be a teacher of the Deaf, he opened a school for Deaf children in 1782. He wrote a book called the Theory of Signs. The first public school for Deaf in the world was the National Institute for the Deaf in Paris set up by Sicard and L'Eppe in 1878.
Jean Massieu was the first Deaf teacher of the Deaf, was a pupil at the Institute in Paris and later taught with both Sicard and Clerc. Later he taught Thomas Gallandet from the United States of America how to teach the Deaf.
Laurent Clerc 1785 - 1869
He was 12 when he went to the National Institute for the Deaf, he studied under De L'Eppe and Sicard. Jean Massieu was his teacher.
Gallendet offered Clerc a job to teach the Deaf in the U.S.A after observing Clerc teaching the Deaf. They opened a school for Deaf in 1817 at Hartford.
Le Bon Sauver for Deaf in Caen, France - there is no information on this school for Deaf. However two Dominic Sisters with their first 2 Deaf pupils went to Le Bon Sauver to receive their education.
In 1846 St Mary's School for Deaf was founded in Cabra, Dublin.
Interesting to note that when Fr Burke CM was appointed Chaplain to the School for Deaf in 1851 he formulated the "Cabra Method" of language. His training was based on his studies of the work of Sicard, L'Eppe and the Caen Language Programme.
Timeline
1857 St Joseph's School for Deaf Boys, Cabra Dublin. Christian Brothers took on the work.
1863 Mother Dympna Kinsella OP, a Cabra Sister, established the Grimley School for Deaf in Capetown, South Africa.
1875 Sr Gabriel Hogan OP, a Deaf teacher of the Deaf from St Mary's Cabra started the school for Deaf in Waratah N.S.W Australia.
1890 Two Dominican Sisters started the School for Deaf in Chinchuba in Louisiana U.S.A.
1922 St Gabriel's School for Deaf Boys in Castle Hill, Sydney, N.S.W.
1943 Sr M Stanislaus Gavin OP and Sr M Rose Noble-Campbell OP went to Rosary School for Deaf, Waratah N.S.W for 1 year to be trained as teachers of the Deaf. They learnt the Irish finger spelling and sign language.
1944 St Dominic's School started in Island Bay, Wellington New Zealand
1947 St Mary's School for Deaf was founded in Portsea Victoria.
1953 Moved to Fielding. Living in old buildings.
1954 Official opening of the classrooms and dormitory.
Prior to the opening of St Dominic's School for Deaf, the Catholic Bishops of New Zealand used to sponsor the Catholic Deaf Children to Rosary School and St Gabriels School for Deaf.
Also in Sumner School for Deaf (now Van Asch College), Miss Marie Richards used to teach the Deaf Boarders their Catholic Faith and prepared them for their 1st Communion and Confirmation. Sisters Stanislaus and Rose brough back the Irish Sign language for the Deaf children to learn but some weeks later they were told Sign Language is forbidden in New Zealand.
Miss Marie Richards taught the Sisters an oral method in 1944 and again in 1948 then taught Sr Louise.