The celebration of the Holy Mass with sign language interpreters at the Immaculate Conception Parish, Marikina City, is one of the major projects of RIDE. The project is a brainchild of Fr. Raymond Decipeda of the Marian Missionaries. The idea struck him when he was visiting in Bacolod and he attended a mass with an interpreter signing to a crowd of deaf people.
So in the summer of 1997, Fr. Raymond took a special course in Basic 1 sign language at RIDE for two weeks. After finishing the course, he moved to have a regular mass using sign language in the Marikina parish. He sought the help of Alodia C. Zatarain, bookkeeper and sign language interpreter of the Southeast Asian Institute of the Deaf to supply him the addresses of deaf people residing in Marikina. He even announced his new project during his mass in the parish every Sunday for the whole month of May last year.
Then on June 1, 1998 at 5 p.m., the first mass with sign language started. There were only three deaf persons. The interpreters were Ma. Lilia L. Alagde and Alfredo S. Celada Jr. The next week there were 15 deaf persons present.
On July 19, 1998, the Catholic Laymen’s Association of the Deaf (CLAD) was formally created as the official name of the deaf community. Its objective is to form an association of deaf individuals that espouses the Catholic faith. It was established to foster unity among deaf individuals, to promote the Catholic faith among the deaf by setting good examples, to promote spiritual, moral and social values to serve a group advocacy in the promotion of the general welfare of the deaf and to help in the empowerment of deaf individuals.
In 1999, Fr. Augustine Aldana of the Marian Missionaries took over as CLAD’s spiritual leader replacing Fr. Raymond, who was transferred to Bacolod City. He studied the basics of Sign Language in order to communicate with the deaf community.
In 1999, Fr. Augustine Aldana of the Marian Missionaries of the Holy Cross took over as CLAD’s spiritual leader replacing Fr. Raymond, who was transferred to Bacolod City. He studied the basics of Sign Language in order to communicate with the deaf community.
Last June to October 2002, sign language practicum students from RIDE started interpreting at the parish as part of their training.
Last July 6, 2003, Fr. Edmund Galicia of the Marian Missionaries of the Holy Cross took over as CLAD’s spiritual leader succeeding Fr. Augustine, who was also transferred to Bacolod City after 4 years of stay in Marikina City. Right now he is adjusting to the deaf community and plans to study Sign Language in order to communicate with them.
Written by: Fr. Raymond Decipeda, MMHC – The Founder of CLAD