BANGOR — St. Paul the Apostle Parish in Bangor is offering signed Masses for members of the deaf community each Sunday.

Donna Casavant has volunteered to sign the 8:30 a.m. Mass at St. Mary Church, at 768 Ohio St. in Bangor. To register to attend the Mass in person, visit
signupgenius.com. The Masses will also be livestreamed each week, to view the Mass online, visit stpaulbangor.me or the parish Facebook page, according to a news release from Dave Guthro, communications director, Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland.

In addition, Fr. Kevin Hughes, S.J., parochial vicar of Our Lady of Hope Parish in Portland, offers a signed Mass at 9 a.m. on the third Sunday of each month, Dec. 20 this month, at St. Pius X Church, located at 492 Ocean Ave. in Portland. All are welcome at the Masses, particularly members of the deaf community, to join in prayer either in person or via live stream at ladyofhopemaine.org.

Deaf Catholics in Maine who are unable to attend the above Masses either in person or via live stream can visit facebook.com/deafmass to watch a live stream of an ASL Mass each Sunday at 11:30 a.m. or watch a replay of the Mass at any time. To view weekly homilies signed by Fr. Michael Depcik, visit frmd.org.

“The deaf community is an important part of the parishes in which they live,” said Bishop Robert Deeley, according to the release. “The diocese wants to reach out to the current and new generations of deaf Catholics to make sure that their needs are being met in terms of having children baptized, catechized, and that they feel welcome at Masses in their churches.”

For more information about opportunities for deaf Catholics in Maine, contact Deacon Bernier, director of the Office of Ministerial Services, at 207-321-7845 or peter.bernier@portlanddiocese.org.

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