Early 1900s - Sisters of Charity Enroll in Higher Deaf Education Course

Bishop John F. Regis Canevin of the Diocese of Pittsburgh recognized a need for a Catholic institution in the state of Pennsylvania to serve both the educational and spiritual needs of children who were deaf or hard of hearing. He approached the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill with his idea. In turn, the Sisters of Charity decided to do everything in their power to make his idea come to fruition. Sister Marie Antonia McLinden, Sister Martha Walsh, and Sister Gertrude Litzinger enrolled in a higher deaf education course at the Boston School for the Deaf and visited various other schools throughout the Northeast to learn best practices and teaching methods for deaf and hard of hearing students. It was during this time when the Sisters were initially introduced and studied the “Oral Method” in deaf education which would prove to be the foundation of the future DePaul School for Hearing and Speech.

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Photo of Students