Staff
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CDM Staff
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Fr Dan Kavanaghdanielkavanagharchstl.orgDirector / Chaplain -
Al Alvordallenalvordarchstl.orgCoordinator
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Fr Dan Kavanagh
In 2019, then-Archbishop Carlson asked me to take on the position of Director and Chaplain of Catholic Deaf Ministry, and I have been blessed during my time in this position. I was ordained as a priest for the Archdiocese of St Louis in 2015, and I have served in a variety of different parish settings. I feel blessed in my current position in large part due to my own personal experience growing up hard-of-hearing. I was born and raised in Toronto, Canada, and moved to St Louis in 2008 after university.
My family attended Mass every Sunday while I was growing up, but I always felt disconnected with my parish and the Catholic Church because I had a lot of difficulty understanding what the priest said at Mass, including his preaching. I was beginning to understand the importance of prayer and trusting in God, but I didn’t know very much about theology or why Catholics do certain things. I would spend my time at Mass looking at the stained-glass windows or counting how many lightbulbs were in the ceiling of the church (fun fact, it was the same every week!)
It wasn’t until later after I finished by bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Finance, that I began to feel God tugging at my heart to look at becoming a priest. I thought that there was no way that God was calling me to become a priest; I didn’t know much about the faith, and He must be mistakenly reaching out to me in prayer. I thought that there were plenty of better guys out there that knew more about their faith and the Church…I thought that they would make better priests. I finally agreed with God that I would try a year at the seminary and see how it goes. After six years of studying at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary, I was ordained a priest. It was a long journey of prayer and learning, but I am thankful that God helped me persevere.
My goal is to be a bridge between people and Jesus Christ. I want to help other people to know that Jesus loves them! I understand that there are many other people out there who had similar experiences to me growing up, and never had the opportunity to learn about their faith. With compassion and joy, I hope that we all can learn more about our faith and how to follow Jesus’ teachings.
Fr Dan -
Al Alvord
I was born profoundly deaf in Chicago, IL, and my family moved to St Louis when I was four years old so that I could attend St. Joseph Institute for the Deaf. While attending St Joseph, there was no sign language allowed, and the school focused on oral communication. This environment was exceedingly difficult for communication and understanding, and there were no interpreters in schools, churches, etc. I also did not find lip-reading to be helpful for me while growing up. I attended Mercy High School, but even then, I felt like a home-school student. Later, I graduated from Gallaudet University with a bachelor's degree in Business/Accounting, and I also earned my master's degree in Education from Lindenwood University.
I moved to Olathe, KS, where I taught ASL at a local community college, and at a Catholic high school for over 20 years. I was later relocated to Indiana, and then moved back home to St Peter’s, MO in 2008.
A few years later, I felt that God was calling me to begin the Ministry Formation Program (MFP) for Deaf Catholics in Libertyville, IL. This program was a big commitment and consisted of six weekends of classes a year for four years. In 2018, I completed the program and received my certificate from MFP, and Archbishop Carlson offered me a full-time position with the Archdiocese as Coordinator of CDM.
I believe that it is God’s plan for me to work for the Archdiocese and serve our Deaf Catholic community by establishing a strong ministry at CDM. I feel that it is important for us Deaf Catholics to have a full ASL Mass so that we can understand God’s Word better! We, in Deaf World, are catching up with hearing world in understanding our faith.
I am very thankful to several priests: Fr Gruenke, Fr Byrnes, Fr Vic, and Fr Dan, for their willingness to work with Deaf Catholics. I am also thankful to God for placing me here and allowing me to serve Him for as long as I can.
-Al
