The Catholic Deaf-Mute, February 1938

The Deaf Catholic Archives (DCA) collection includes magazines, newsletters and convention information from the International Catholic Deaf Association; magazines and convention information from the National Catholic Office for the Deaf; local newsletters from hundreds of dioceses in the US, Canada and internationally; Sign Language books, Bibles, glossed readings and videos of Biblical stories in ASL (American Sign Language). There are also religious education materials, including guidelines for teachers and materials for Deaf children and adults; yearbooks and newsletters from Catholic Schools for the Deaf; and other materials relating to the Deaf Catholic community and individuals and the pastoral care for Deaf and hard of hearing people. Additionally, there are books about Deaf Catholics and their history and culture.

The largest series in the collection is Newsletters. The DCA has more than 220 different newsletters, from over 10 countries including the United States, Canada, Trinidad, England, Ireland, Spain, Italy, India, Philippines, Australia, and New Zealand and are published online in CrossWorks, the institutional repository of the College.

This publication began in New York City by a deaf man named James Donnelly in 1900. After his death in 1934, Rev. Michael McCarthy, S.J. took over changing the title of the publication a few years later to EPHPHETA and continued the publication until his death in 1945. Rev. George Haye and Msgr. Thomas Cribbin, both of Brooklyn, NY took over. The publication ceased during the late 1960s.