In 2022, Pope Francis called on the church to meet the accessibility needs of people with disabilities, ensuring each person is integrated into the community.
“Accessibility is not just about wheelchair ramps. It’s also about being welcoming,” said Laura Zoeller, echoing the pope’s statement. Zoeller is the Archdiocese of Louisville’s consultant for adult formation and initiation.
Creating a more welcoming Sunday liturgy can begin with the average person in the pew — and a good attitude — explained Zoeller in a recent interview.
“Just having the awareness that not everyone is the same” is a good place to start, she said.
“When a child is making noise during Mass, sometimes it’s not because they are being bad,” she noted. “Everyone has a different way of expressing themselves. Celebrate the fact that we have all kinds of people around us.”
“Being open to that and not being immediately judgemental” can help a parish support parents who often struggle to bring their children to Mass.
Church ministers — such as hospitality ministers and eucharistic ministers — also have a part to play in welcoming people with disabilities at Mass, she noted. This also begins by spreading awareness, she said.
“Having the ministers be aware that they may have people with different abilities come in” is important to their liturgical training, explained Zoeller.
Hospitality ministers should consider the needs of those with disabilities when it comes to seating. Someone with hearing loss might need to sit near the front, she explained, while someone who utilizes self-regulating behaviors might need to sit closer to an exit.
Hospitality ministers should also expect that greeting and seating individuals with disabilities will take a longer time, she said.
Eucharistic ministers should be aware of the communicants’ needs within their parish. An individual who uses a feeding tube might be able to receive a drop of the Precious Blood on their tongue, she explained. Others might need a low-gluten host.
Eucharistic ministers can ask a caregiver when he or she is uncertain if an individual can receive the Eucharist, she added.
Parishes may also explore the possibility of providing aids to help people with disabilities. For example, she said, a parish can help those with hearing loss participate in the Liturgy of the Word by providing assistive listening devices, worship aids, missals or copies of the homily in writing.
Zoeller added that individuals in the disabled community should be welcome to participate in parish ministries.
Parishioners with disabilities might be able to hand out a participation aid, altar serve or sing in the choir, she said. When individuals with disabilities engage in these ministries, more experienced ministers can help as they “take that person under their wing and help that person in their ministry,” she added.
When challenges or special needs arise, parishioners and ministers should practice patience, she said. “Handling things with grace and compassion goes a long way,” said Zoeller.
Rachel Williamson, a parishioner at St. Margaret Mary Church who has a child with special needs, said during a recent interview, “There’s a place for everybody at church.”
Her parish offers a special Mass for children with special needs.
“No one really cares if he (her son) is having ‘a moment;’ no one bats an eye.” Surrounded by families with similar experiences, she gets the feeling that “it’s okay,” she said.
She offered a few suggestions for parishes:
- Create a designated space or quiet area for children with disabilities to recollect themselves.
- Provide sensory kits to help children with disabilities participate in Mass. Consider having one or two kits that families can check out prior to Mass.
- Offer a follow-along guide of what to expect in Mass, using visual cues.
- Reach out to the family, either personally or with an aide, noting what might help a child with disabilities — such as where to find the quiet area or a Mass guide.
Williamson also shared some tips for parents taking a special-needs child to church:
- “Prepare your child for what they’re going to see at the church.”
- Make your own “fidget bag.”
- “Pray before you go in, and know you are there for God, and not for someone else who looked at you funny.”
- “Go in and try it. Try and make it to the first reading” one week. The next week, “try and make it to the second reading.”
For additional resources, visit the website of the National Catholic Partnership on Disabilities, www.ncpd.org. The partnership is dedicated to “Promoting the meaningful participation of persons with disabilities in church and society,” its website explains.
