Back in 1900, a young, blind woman named Margaret Coffee taught blind children in New York City. She taught what Catholics would consider “CCD” today, said Malachy Fallon, executive director of the New York City-based Xavier Society for the Blind. She noticed some of the children didn’t have the same “raised print” reading materials, a forerunner to Braille, used at the time. She wanted to change that.

Malachy Fallon

Coffee “recruited and partnered with” Jesuit Father Joseph Stadelman to establish the Xavier Society for the Blind to produce books for blind children in her classes. “So that’s how we got started producing raised-print books for young children,” Fallon said, “to allow them to participate fully in their CCD classes.”

The tagline for the society, a Catholic organization, is “delivering faith and inspiration in Braille and audio,” Fallon said, referring to its printed materials, including books, and audio books. Many patrons use the Braille materials to not only fully participate in Mass, but to serve as lectors, lecturers and readers at Mass, he said.

“It’s great to be able to provide these materials at any stage in someone’s life or journey of faith, so that they can practice their faith and learn more about it,” said Aisling Redican, the society’s communications and fundraising manager.

Fallon and Redican recently joined “Practicing Catholic” host Patrick Conley to describe the services offered by the Xavier Society to the blind and visually impaired. The society serves many people in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, as well as Minnesota, across the country and in 22 other nations around the globe.

Aisling Redican

All materials are provided free of charge, Redican said, so the organization depends on donations from individuals, families and organizations.

Those who are blind or severely vision impaired rely on word of mouth to learn about the society’s free assistance, so spreading the word that way is very important, Malachy said. “We want to serve more people,” he said. “We think there are many more people who can benefit from what we do.”

For more information and to make a donation, visit xaviersocietyfortheblind.org or call 800-637-9193. To hear the full interview, listen to this episode of “Practicing Catholic,” which debuts at 9 p.m. Nov. 25 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM and repeats at 1 p.m. Nov. 26 and 2 p.m. Nov. 27.

Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes interviews with Father John Paul Erickson, pastor of Transfiguration in Oakdale, and Sydney March, a registered nurse who works in the emergency room at a Twin Cities hospital and a staff nurse at Options for Women East in St. Paul, who describe the clinic and how the faithful can help serve its clients’ needs; and a reprised interview from November 2020 with Susanna Parent, stay-at-home mom and former producer of Practicing Catholic’s predecessor program, who discusses practicing hospitality during the holidays.

Listen to interviews after they have aired at?PracticingCatholicShow.com or choose a streaming platform at anchor.fm/practicing-catholic-show.