About Mother of Perpetual Help Church of the Deaf · Omaha, Nebraska
Mother of Perpetual Help Church of the Deaf is a Roman Catholic parish in the Archdiocese of Omaha, Nebraska, dedicated to serving Deaf and hard-of-hearing Catholics in the Omaha–Council Bluffs region. Located at 5215 Seward Avenue on the city's north side, the parish has celebrated the liturgy in American Sign Language since the 1970s and is currently administered by the Archdiocese's chancellor, Deacon Timothy F. McNeil. The parish is part of a wider regional Deaf Catholic community that also gathers at interpreted Masses at St. Patrick Church in Council Bluffs and St. Peter Church across the river. It retains a special ministry identity even as the Archdiocese notes the physical church is "used for retreats only" in its parish directory.
- Established
- 1976
- Patron
- Our Lady of Perpetual Help (Our Mother of Perpetual Help)
- Rector
- Deacon Timothy F. McNeil (parish administrator/coordinator)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Omaha
Why belong here
Mother of Perpetual Help is one of the only parishes in the region where the entire Sunday liturgy is celebrated in American Sign Language — from the readings and homily to the Eucharistic Prayer — making it a rare spiritual home for Deaf Catholics, their families, and ASL users across Nebraska and western Iowa. The parish couples full sacramental access with a tightly-knit Deaf community life: weekly signed Sunday Mass (with reconciliation before Mass and a social time with coffee and rolls afterward), weekly Tuesday devotions to Our Mother of Perpetual Help, and a parish hall used for retreats, ICDA chapter gatherings, and Deaf-Catholic fellowship. Visiting Deaf Catholics, sign-language students, and anyone seeking an authentically Deaf worshipping community will find a long-standing, sign-language-centered Catholic home here.
Mass times at Mother of Perpetual Help Church of the Deaf
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday immediately prior to the 10:00 AM Mass (documented as 'Reconciliation prior to Mass')
History of the Parish
Catholic ministry to the Deaf in Omaha dates back to at least the early 1930s, with the Omaha Deaf Catholic community marking a '50th Anniversary Mass and Dinner' of Catholic services in sign language in April 1983. The modern parish traces its founding to 1972, when Redemptorist Father James Vance learned sign language and began celebrating Mass for a small group of Deaf Catholics in the cafeteria of Holy Name church. In 1976 that congregation found a permanent home at the former Mother of Perpetual Help church on Seward Street, taking the parish's present name. Father Vance remained pastor across the 1970s, 1980s, and into the 1990s, with regional Redemptorists of the Southern Deaf Mission Team assisting at missions and retreats.
- 1933 — earliest documented Deaf-Catholic liturgical presence in the region
- 1972 — Fr. James Vance, C.Ss.R., learns ASL and begins Deaf Masses at Holy Name
- 1976 — permanent home established at 5215 Seward Street; parish takes the name 'Mother of Perpetual Help Church of the Deaf'
- 1983 — 50th Anniversary Mass & Dinner of Catholic services in sign language
- 1985–1986 — interior refresh: new blue carpet (Dec 1985); walls painted and steeple improved (summer 1986)
- 1986 — 'big celebration' honoring Father Vance; parish boasts ~90 Sunday worshippers
- Late 20th century — pastoral care transitions to direct Archdiocese administration
Clergy, Administration & Pastoral Succession
For more than two decades the parish was identified almost exclusively with its founding Redemptorist pastor, Father James Vance, C.Ss.R., who also served the wider Omaha–Council Bluffs Deaf community (celebrating Mass at the Iowa School for the Deaf, teaching religion at the Iowa and Nebraska state schools for the deaf, and visiting the Deaf in hospitals and nursing homes). He was assisted by Sister Mary Helen Seivert, O.S.F., a Franciscan sister who oversaw religious education for Deaf students. In later decades pastoral administration passed to the Archdiocese of Omaha, where Deacon Timothy F. McNeil — simultaneously Chancellor of the Archdiocese and director of its Office of the Permanent Diaconate — currently serves as parish administrator/coordinator.
- Rev. James Vance, C.Ss.R. — founding pastor (1972–1994 references)
- Sister Mary Helen Seivert, O.S.F. — Deaf religious-education coordinator
- Rev. Len Broniak, C.S.S.R. — Redemptorist Deaf-mission preacher
- Rev. Rich Luberti, C.S.S.R. — Redemptorist Deaf-mission preacher
- Rev. Tony Russo, Rev. Bob Alfers, Rev. Patrick Best — listed among former priests assigned to Omaha Deaf ministry
- Deacon Timothy F. McNeil — current parish coordinator/administrator
Devotions & Parish Life
Beyond the Sunday Mass, the parish's spiritual life centers on a weekly Tuesday devotion to Our Mother of Perpetual Help at 6:00 PM, signed retreats (such as the 1994 'Time to Grow' mission-retreat led by Redemptorist Fathers Broniak and Luberti), and an active parish social life with Sunday fellowship after Mass. Through ICDA Chapter 71 the community links to the broader International Catholic Deaf Association, and the church basement has historically hosted chapter gatherings, the parish newsletter (printed in the 1990s in editions dated 1990–1994), and pastoral meetings.
- Mother of Perpetual Help Devotion (Tuesday 6:00 PM)
- Signed parish retreats and missions
- ICDA Chapter 71 — Mother of Perpetual Help
- Sunday coffee-and-rolls social in the basement
- Parish newsletters (archived 1990–1994, Deaf Catholic Archives, College of the Holy Cross)
Regional Deaf Catholic Ministry
Mother of Perpetual Help is the hub of a regional Deaf Catholic community that spans the Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area across the Missouri River. In cooperation with the Diocese of Des Moines and the Archdiocese of Omaha, the parish community also coordinates interpreted (signed) Masses at neighboring parishes so that Deaf Catholics who cannot easily reach Seward Street still have weekly liturgical access.
- St. Patrick Church, Council Bluffs — signed Mass Saturday 4:00 PM and Sunday 10:30 AM (documented 1990s)
- St. Peter Church, Council Bluffs — signed Mass Sunday 10:00 AM
- Iowa School for the Deaf, Council Bluffs — weekly Sunday-evening Mass; Wednesday-evening catechesis
- Nebraska School for the Deaf — religion instruction
- Diocese of Des Moines Office of Deaf Ministry — collaborative partner
Visiting the Parish
Deaf Catholics, sign-language students, families of Deaf parishioners, and friends are warmly welcomed at the Sunday 10:00 AM signed liturgy. Confessions are heard immediately before Mass, and visitors are invited to the basement social that follows. The Archdiocese parish directory lists the church building as 'used for retreats only,' so visitors planning a trip are encouraged to call the parish phone line — which accepts both voice and TTY (TDD) calls — to confirm current Mass and event schedules. The church sits on the corner of 52nd/53rd Street and Seward Avenue on Omaha's north side, easily reached by following Hamilton Street north to 52nd Street and then to Seward.
- Sunday 10:00 AM — primary public liturgy
- Reconciliation before Sunday Mass
- Fellowship and coffee in the basement after Mass
- Voice / TTY (TDD): (402) 558-4214
- Building access: confirm by calling ahead — Archdiocese lists site as 'used for retreats only'
Sources & Archives
Mother of Perpetual Help Church of the Deaf has a remarkably rich archival trail thanks to decades of parish newsletters that were preserved in what is now the Deaf Catholic Archives at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. Those newsletters (1978–1995) and contemporary NCOD/ICDA publications document the parish's founding, liturgy, renovation, and pastoral succession.
- Deaf Catholic Archives, College of the Holy Cross — Mother of Perpetual Help Church of the Deaf Collection (1978–1995)
- Iowa Catholic Deaf Newsletter (1977–1994) — multi-issue coverage of parish liturgy, devotions and staff
- The Deaf Catholic (Spring 1991, et al.)
- National Catholic Partnership on Disability — Diocesan Director directory (Deacon Timothy McNeil)
- Nebraska Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing — Interpretered Church Services list (2024)
- Archdiocese of Omaha — Find a Parish directory
- GCatholic — Church of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, Omaha
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. James Vance, C.Ss.R.1972–1994 (verified references)
Redemptorist (Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer) who learned American Sign Language in 1972 and celebrated the first informal Deaf Masses in the cafeteria of Holy Name parish. Led the Deaf Catholic community to occupy the former Mother of Perpetual Help church at 5215 Seward in 1976, served as pastor/moderator across the 1970s–1990s, celebrated weekly Sunday signed Mass at 10 a.m., taught religion at the Iowa and Nebraska Schools for the Deaf, and offered weekly Mass for Catholic students at the Iowa School for the Deaf in Council Bluffs. Honored at a 'big celebration' in June 1986; named pastor on newsletters through Winter 1994.
- Rev. Tony Russo
Mentioned in the Winter 1981 ICDA/Iowa Catholic Deaf newsletter as one of the priests previously assigned to the Omaha Deaf community; newsletter solicited current address information for him and others.
- Bob Alfers (priest)
Listed (1983) among former priests of the Omaha Deaf Catholic community whose current address was sought in parish appeals.
- Patrick Best (priest)
Listed (1983) among former priests of the Omaha Deaf Catholic community whose current address was sought in parish appeals.
- Rev. Len Broniak, C.S.S.R.
Redemptorist of the Southern Deaf Mission Team who co-led signed Mission-Retreats at Mother of Perpetual Help Church with Father Rich Luberti, C.S.S.R., in March 1994.
- Rev. Rich Luberti, C.S.S.R.
Redemptorist of the Southern Deaf Mission Team; co-led 1994 Mission-Retreat at the parish. (Listed as 'Luberth C.S.S.R.' in some 1994 documents.)
- Sister Mary Helen Seivert, O.S.F.1970s–1990s (verified references)
Franciscan sister who taught and supervised the religion program at the Iowa School for the Deaf, ministered across the Deaf Catholic community of the Archdiocese of Omaha and the Diocese of Des Moines, and worked closely with Father Vance.