We didn't know each other yet, but we shared the same desire: to form a group that could serve our communities alongside people living with intellectual disability.
Ideas and projects didn't lack. But we kept our feet on the ground, holding to a simple motto:
"Better one thing done well than ten done poorly."
So we looked around more carefully. And we saw it clearly. Some people don't fully understand the meaning of the words at Mass; some struggle to listen to a twenty-minute homily; some can't sit still through an entire service.
And there are others who understand the words fine, but are disturbed by the sudden outbursts of those who need to express themselves in their own way during the celebration.
That's when the idea came: why not create a Mass made to measure? It began with parents and friends of young people with intellectual disabilities—people who risked being shut out from the liturgy simply because they didn't "understand" in the conventional sense, or because their behavior seemed unusual.
But it was also wanted by those who believe that these young people have something to teach us: the return to simplicity, to what matters most, the rediscovery of religious feeling, the living connection between daily life and the sacraments—and back again.
The pastor, don Giuseppe Barzaghi, agreed to help. So did the Comunità TAU of Arcene (BG), which cares for profoundly disabled children. And a faithful group from Treviglio, a small town in the lower Bergamo region, made it happen. This is a genuine liturgical-eucharistic celebration, adapted to the understanding and participation of people with intellectual disabilities—not a second-rate Mass, not a "quasi-Mass," but the real thing. It takes place once a month at the parish church of Santa Maria Annunziata in the Conventino neighborhood. People come from parishes all across the area.
The texts for the "Liturgy of the Word" are chosen, reflected on, and written out in simple, clear, essential language.
And to help explain what the readings mean, we use mime, gesture, and dramatic action—staging what has been proclaimed, so the message of the Good News reaches people through more than words alone, and touches the hearts of all who listen.
Pure gestures. Essential ones. Lived ones. These are what help people enter into the mystery of Jesus who becomes Bread and Wine, who comes to fill our hunger and thirst for the Absolute.
Honesty and Truth
People with intellectual disabilities ask for honesty and truthfulness. They ask that what we say and what we do be consistent with who we are and what we celebrate.
And it is precisely this hunger for honesty, truthfulness, and integrity that makes them our teachers—the schoolmasters from whom we rediscover the roots of our faith, beyond any habit we've picked up or any gesture we take for granted.
These people, pushed so often to the margins of society and the Church, spark real change in our community. They teach us to come to Mass in a new way—not out of duty, but out of genuine need: for God, for communion, for brotherhood. We see something growing from this eucharistic celebration: a deeper openness toward those who seem "different," yet whom God loves and cherishes. We are now more convinced than ever that without them, our community would not be the same.
One Step at a Time
It's only a first step. But it's a step in the right direction, judging by how the young people, their families, and their friends have responded.
It's beautiful to see more and more people coming to this Mass—elderly people, mothers with small children, brothers and friends and teachers who were skeptical at first, even opposed to the idea of something "tailored," as if it might be another "ghetto," another "special" occasion. We understand the worry. True integration in a welcoming community that meets everyone's needs is indeed the real goal. But we chose to move in small steps, starting quietly, inviting only those we knew. Now the church fills with people, and we're thinking that little by little, we might bring the style and method of this custom-made Mass into one of the regular parish services.
We tried it twice at the 11:15 community Mass, and it was wonderful: people with disabilities and their families were no longer a small minority—they were the active, central part of the assembly.
After Mass, we share a simple snack together, and it's become a "tradition"—a time to talk, to share, to build new friendships.
But we felt the Mass alone wasn't quite enough. We wanted to prepare together with our friends, through a kind of "catechesis" that helps us understand Scripture more deeply, following the path the Church's year lays out for us.
We're still learning, and we may be reinventing the wheel.
But this gathering, this rediscovery of ritual and celebration, of praise and sharing, this growing web of connections—it has become something we simply cannot do without.
Resources
The Pedagogical Service of Trento publishes each year a valuable "Italian Bibliography on Hearing, Vision, and Speech Disorders" by S. Lagati. The 2002 volume contains extensive documentation of important periodicals and organizations specializing in various disabilities, plus 600 entries on books, journals, and articles covering other types of disability, educational challenges, various therapies, school and social integration, family life, religious education, conferences, and more.
For information:
Salvatore Lagati - Pedagogical Consultation Service
Via Druso 7 - Casella Postale 601 - 38100 Trento
tel. and fax: 0461.82.86.93
E-mail : calagati@tin.it