The church of silence

Bandra’s St Theresa Church is the only in Mumbai to hold special Sunday mass               for the deaf and dumb

N Ganesh

Mumbai, September 09: There is no ornate pulpit, neither are there any long rows of wooden benches. The priest dressed in white robe conducts the mass in the backdrop of a green colour writing board, while the accessories are kept on a table. Seated in the plastic chairs in the front, men, women and children are keenly watching the proceedings of the mass, oblivious to the lack of usual settings.

Even as father Herbert Alphonso conducts the Sunday mass, the eyes of the congregation is fixed on the person standing nearby who is animatedly moving hands in the air and making facial expressions with fervour.

Welcome to the special Sunday mass for deaf and dumb, only one in Mumbai, organised by the Bombay Center for Deaf (BCD) at the St Theresa Church at Bandra. Being the only one it has loyal following of people coming in from as far as Kalyan on the central line and Borivali on the western line.

“This is the only place where they feel comfortable as they are able to communicate unhindered with any person in the congregation. More than a weekly religious ritual the Sunday mass is a major activity in the lives of the hearing impaired people who come here,” said Shobha Thomas, who is associated with BCD since the time she accompanied her hearing impaired sister, Sunita, in the 1990s.

The fact that this is a special mass does not mean that it deviates in any way from regular masses and singing of hymns is no exception. The singing of hymns also is done in sign languages has the collective participation of all those gathered.

The congregation is not strictly Christian Catholic, even Hindus and Muslims who have benefited from BCD’s principle activity of adult education and vocational training visit the mass.

77-year-old Herbert is not the regular priest of this special Sunday mass, he is actually based in Rome where he teaches spirituality at the Pontifical Gregorian University. “I am on visit to Mumbai and whenever I am here I make it a point to attend this special mass,” said the Father.

The congregation often launched into interactions among themselves at every opportunity that they found. “They are very communicative. Their spontaneous reactions are understood by others without they any extra effort. This is something which they are not able to do even at their homes,” said Fr Herbert.

Thomas says that the families of those attending the congregation have been more than happy with the mass. “We often get feedback that the hearing impaired tend to be well-mannered after their visits to the mass,” said Thomas. Fr Herbert has been associated with BCD since its inception in the 1960 by his elder brother Fr Freddy. Fr Freddy is trained in educating the hearing impaired from the Gallaudet University in Washington.

After Fr Freddy passed away in 1994, the reins of BCD were handed over to his younger brother Stanny Alphonso (62) an hearing impaired who was working as a commercial artist. Once Fr Herbert leaves for Rome Stanny, known for exceptional organisational skill, will conduct the mass again while Thomas, as usual, does the interpretation wherever required.