First in the U.S.

Deaf African-American ordained a priest for the archdiocese of San Francisco

When
Paul Zirimenya was a seminarian at St. Patrick's in Menlo Park, some
regarded him as a pioneer -- but Zirimenya sees himself a little
differently. He told the San Mateo County Times he likes to think of himself as representing just another of the many diverse cultures that find a home in the Catholic Church.





Ordained
a priest on June 9 by Archbishop George H. Niederauer, Fr. Zirimenya, a
native of Uganda, became the first black, deaf priest to be ordained
for the United States.





National Catholic Office for the Deaf director Arvilla Rank
estimates that only about 4 percent of deaf Catholic adults nationwide
attend Mass. The newly ordained Fr. Zirimenya says he hopes to remedy
deaf people's isolation and bring them into a more active life in the
church, both locally and worldwide.





As a 6-year-old child in the small Ugandan town of Nsambya (near
Kampala), Zirimenya contracted an illness that caused hearing loss but
which did not result in complete deafness until he was 14. After years
of speech training, he now can converse intelligibly both in English
and his native Lugandan, in addition to both American and Ugandan Sign
Language.





Though "rich" in languages, Zirimenya faced some major challenges:
more than half the students at St. Patrick's come from other countries,
so seminary liturgies (as well as conversations) always included
elements of Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese. The San Mateo County Times
recounted how, at Mass, Neva Turoff, the seminary's coordinator of deaf
services, signed translations and finger-spelled the foreign words.
Zirimenya signed the liturgical responses, pressing his palms together
for "Amen."





Fr. Zirimenya has high praise for Turoff and other interpreters,
explaining that their help made it possible for him to overcome the
almost overwhelming challenges he faced during his studies.





Even with interpreters and live monitors with computerized
captioning, seminary life still required dealing creatively with
countless difficulties. Sometimes scribbling messages on white boards
or pads of paper was the only convenient way to communicate with his
teachers and his fellow students. Zirimenya can also read lips,
although it can be difficult depending on the person. "And if you have
a mustache, it's worse, even if I am proud to have one, " he joked to Catholic San Francisco, the archdiocesan weekly.





As part of his formation, Zirimenya worked in parishes with hearing
congregations. This helped him to become a better oral reader and gave
him experience being “a bridge between the hearing and deaf
communities,” he said.





Fr. Zirimenya noted that he never encountered discrimination based
on his disability. On the contrary, he found that deafness draws people
to him.





Neither was racism ever a problem. "[St. Patrick's] is the most
diverse seminary I have ever attended and the best field education I
have ever received. The level of cooperation between people of all
colors and nationalities often moved me to tears," Zirimenya said in an
email to California Catholic Daily.





The young San Francisco priest says he looks forward to working with people with multiple handicaps, like the deaf-blind.





"Two years ago, one of my summer assignments was Bible Studies,
with classes offered for both deaf teens and adults. I greatly enjoyed
that. All I can say about the days ahead is, 'Here I am, Lord; I come
to do Your will.'"

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