Deaf-blind Catholic priest ministers in Rome

A deaf-blind South African priest was featured in the Catholic New Service for his ministry to the deaf in Rome. Father Cyril Axelrod, who has Usher syndrome, received the Order of the British Empire from the Queen of England in 2013--the first deaf-blind person to do so. Read the full story from CNS here.

Studying Sign Language Abroad

The Siena School for the Liberal Arts in Tuscany, Italy is offering a three week program in Italian Sign language and Italian deaf culture for American ASL students over the summer. More than two dozen students will participate this year – most of them from Gallaudet University and the University of New Mexico. The school also has a three-week long language program for deaf Americans and deaf Italians who room together while studying each other’s sign language. There is also a deaf poetry festival at the school in November.

If you’d rather see the Caribbean than Italy, there is a 13-week program on sign language and deaf culture in Jamaica at the Maranatha School for the Deaf which is associated with the Mennonite Church.