Skip to main content

NCPD LogoNational Catholic
Partnership on Disability
Alianza Nacional Católica
Sobre la Discapacidad

  • Support NCPD
  • Sign up for E-news!
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
      • NCPD Governance Board
      • Catholic Disability Foundation
      • Staff
      • Council on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
      • Council on Mental Illness
    • Donate
    • Press Releases
  • Resources
    • Roman Missal
    • Dioceses and Parishes
      • Accessible Design
      • Gluten and Alcohol Intolerance
      • Work with NCPD
      • Parish Welcome
      • We All Belong
      • Symposium 2019
      • Find a Diocesan Director
    • Clergy
    • Families
      • Prenatal and Postnatal Support
      • Accommodations for Persons with Disabilities at National Prayer Vigil for Life
      • Physician-Assisted Suicide
    • Partners
    • Catholic Schools
      • Professional Development
      • Funding Models
    • Purchase Resources
  • Disability
    • Autism Spectrum Disorder
    • Blindness/Vision Loss
    • Deafness/Hearing Loss
    • Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
      • Council on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities
      • Speaker Forms for IDD Conference - Fall 2022
    • Mental Illness
      • Council on Mental Illness and Wellness
      • Mental Illness Theological Framework
      • Suicide
    • Physical Disability
  • Catechesis
    • Inclusive Lenten Activities
    • Adapted Faith Formation Activities
    • Catechetical Publishers
  • Affiliates
    • About Affiliate Membership
    • Be An Affiliate
    • Check Affiliate Status
    • Affiliate Connect Calendar
  • Courses
    • Sacraments
    • Mental Health Ministry
    • Sensory-Friendly Mass
    • Parish Advocate
  • En Español
  • Support NCPD

You are here

  1. Home
  2. Loyola Press 2018 Opening Doors Parish Award Winner Announced

Loyola Press 2018 Opening Doors Parish Award Winner Announced

NCPD Logo with text "Press Release" underneath

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Janice L. Benton
January 11, 2019
jbenton@ncpd.org
202-529-2933
Washington, DC office

Washington, DC – The National Catholic Partnership on Disability (NCPD), in partnership with Loyola Press, is pleased to announce Saint Patrick Church, Providence, RI as the recipient of the Loyola Press 2018 Opening Doors Parish Award. The parish will receive from Loyola Press $1000 and a plaque.

Three judges, representing the Archdioceses of Portland in Oregon and of Washington, and the Diocese of Wichita selected Saint Patrick Church after reviewing numerous applications from across the United States. In their review, the judges looked at ways parishes demonstrate a deep commitment to parishioners with disabilities providing access for full participation in all aspects of parish life: sacramental, catechetical, social, ministerial, and community service.

Judge Kelsey Bell, Director of the Office for People with Disabilities in the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon, noted that: “St. Patrick has demonstrated comprehensive and consistent ministry to all of its parishioners, regardless of their age, ability, or language. From having ASL interpreters available at Mass every week, to catechesis for children based on a continuum of their individual needs, to live streaming Mass for those members of the parish who are homebound or sick, to having a summer Bible camp for individuals with disabilities, to intentional consideration of individuals experiencing mental illness, it is clear that their intention is one of service and welcoming everyone in. The inclusion of individuals who experience disability on liturgical teams, as altar servers or ushers, and in music ministry highlights the importance of true integration within a parish.”

Upon learning of the award selection, Marsha Rivas, Chair of the NCPD Board of Directors, stated: “We are very pleased with our selection of St. Patrick Church (Diocese of Providence) as this year’s recipient of the Loyola Press Opening Doors Parish award. The inclusion of individuals who experience disability on liturgical teams, as altar servers or ushers, and in music ministry highlights the importance of true integration within a parish.”

The McCormick Pavilion, 415 Michigan Avenue, N.E., Suite 95, Washington, DC 20017-4501 202-529-2933; 202-529-4678 (fax); www.ncpd.org NCPD is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit corporation

Janice Benton, NCPD Executive Director notes: “It is clear that St. Patrick Parish has responded to the real needs presented in a way that truly builds community within the life of the parish.” She adds, “We thank Loyola Press for their commitment to serving individuals with disabilities through their products and training, and their sponsorship of this award.”

By granting this award to Saint Patrick Church, NCPD and Loyola Press hope to show parishes large and small, old and new, that sowing seeds of welcome to persons with disabilities and making accommodations for all to partake at the Lord’s Table produces a bountiful harvest that nourishes the entire parish.

####

Loyola Press is a Catholic publishing company providing materials and resources for catechists as well as all Catholics to grow in a greater knowledge and understanding of their faith. Loyola Press has been active in facilitating greater inclusion for people with disabilities in the church through their adaptive sacramental preparation kits and the Adaptive Finding God curriculum. Their mission, as appears on their website (loyolapress.com) states, “Loyola Press is much more than a publishing company. As a Jesuit Ministry, we strive to help you find God in all things and develop a deep, personal relationship with Jesus Christ. As an apostolate of the USA Midwest Province of the Society of Jesus (commonly known as the Jesuits), Loyola Press embraces the Jesuit passion for helping people to find God in all things. We continue the Jesuit tradition of excellence and service through the content we create and by being people for others.”

Since 1982, the National Catholic Partnership on Disability (NCPD) has served the
U.S. Catholic Church by providing resources, training, consultation and advocacy for the estimated 14 million U.S. Catholics who live with disability. Visit www.ncpd.org for more information on NCPD’s programs and services.

Resource Type: 
Press Releases
NCPD Logo

National Catholic
Partnership on Disability

Promoting the Meaningful Participation
of Persons with Disabilities in Church and Society

Contact us: 415 Michigan Avenue, N.E., Suite 95
Washington, D.C. 20017-4501; ncpd@ncpd.org; 202-529-2933

NCPD is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt nonprofit corporation.

Copyright © NCPD - National Catholic Partnership on Disability | Website: CEDC