Diocese of Gary

HAMMOND – A traditional church environment can feature loud music, bells, incense, bright or flickering lights and large crowds. These things can potentially trigger anxiety and distress to those who may be more sensitive to their surroundings. One parish hopes to ease these concerns for those individuals and their families with a slightly different liturgy setting.

Starting Sept. 13, St. John Bosco will host a Sensory-Friendly Mass at 2 p.m. on the second Sunday of every month.

What is a Sensory-Friendly Mass? A Sensory-Friendly Mass provides a comfortable setting for children and adults with sensory challenges or any kind of disability to feel engaged and experience Mass in a meaningful way alongside family members and caregivers.

The Mass is the same as that practiced by the Catholic Church but with dimmer lighting, readings from the children’s lectionary, a brief homily, only necessary movement in the sanctuary, smaller hosts and no music or incense.

Families are also encouraged to bring materials that can assist with comfort during the liturgy, such as noise-cancelling headphones, wiggle seats, sunglasses and fidget cubes. Attendees can move around if needed, and families can spread out throughout the church if they need a little more space.

Father Jeff Burton said at its core, it is about evangelization, reaching out to bring people back into the fold. The pastor of St. John Bosco, Our Lady of Perpetual Help and administrator of St. Joseph in Hammond, noted that attending Mass can be difficult for special needs families. Often they might stop attending Mass entirely because their loved ones can become agitated or overstimulated in the traditional Sunday morning environment.

Father Burton shared that when he was a transitional deacon, he was assigned to St. Mary in Crown Point, where Father Pat Kalich celebrated a monthly Sensory-Friendly Mass “before it was ever a thing.”

“We had families in the parish who weren’t comfortable in the traditional Sunday Mass setting,” Father Burton explained. “Some of these families had children on the autism spectrum, some with special needs or verbal tics and we also had seniors with dementia and Alzheimer’s who needed a setting with reduced visual and auditory distractions.”

A few years ago, Father Burton was at the University of Notre Dame for the School Pastor’s Institute, and inclusive education was part of the training sessions. Since those involved were all parish priests, Sensory-Friendly Masses in dioceses around the country were discussed. Then, last summer, Father Burton saw a story about a parish just outside of South Bend that added a Sensory Room. As he read more about it and prayed about it, he thought this was a way the church might help families living with any sort of neurodivergence reconnect with the celebration of the Eucharist.

“Jesus welcomed all,” Father Burton said. “And there’s a way to reach out to families who might be sitting on the sidelines of celebrating their faith because maybe something happened in the traditional setting that made them feel self-conscious, or they know that one of their loved ones is unable to sit still for an hour or more, or lighting and music highlights their neurodivergence, they become agitated or overstimulated.”

Father Burton noted the design of St. John Bosco’s church building lends itself well to piloting a Sensory-Friendly Mass. The lighting is designed to be adjusted for uplighting, which is a little more subdued; the windows are high, so there is little outside distraction and the sanctuary placement makes a liturgy with limited movement very possible.

“And Bosco has always been multi-generational, with a lot of young families, and it’s never been a ‘shushing’ congregation,” Father Burton added.

Having spent his entire priesthood celebrating Masses with schoolchildren and in high school gymnasiums, Father Burton stated he doesn't get distracted and believes he can celebrate this Mass in a way that is valid, licit and reverent. He said, “Those are gifts God has given me, and this is a small way I can offer them back.”
 
Emily Hackett, director of religious education at St. Thomas More in Munster, stated she was really excited when she heard about the Sensory-Friendly Mass. Hackett, who also leads the Ability Inclusion Ministry in the diocese, added she was happy that the service would be offered in the diocese regularly.

“I hope that it helps families of children with special needs to feel welcome at Mass, and that it gives them a place and an opportunity to participate in the Mass without worrying about how their children’s behavior might be viewed or judged,” she said.

St. John Bosco Catholic Church is located at 7113 Columbia Ave. in Hammond. For more information on activities and events at the parish, visit sjbhammond.org.