Braille Services

Since 1900, Xavier Society for the Blind has been providing free braille materials to patrons of all ages, both lay and religious, in order for them to learn about, develop and practice their Faith. We have a catalog of over 1,000 braille titles, ranging from biographies of saints to theological dissertations and even contemporary titles by popular authors like Matthew Kelly and Father James Martin, SJ. Looking for the Missalette in braille? We have that too! More info on our Propers of the Sunday Mass is below. 

Keep up to date with our newest additions by clicking here.

Many of our titles are available in BRF (braille ready file), including the Propers of the Sunday Mass, downloadable from our website. If you need your log-in details to download BRFs please contact clientservices@xaviersocietyfortheblind.org.

Here are some of the other materials we provide in braille:

Mass Propers

One of our most important and popular publications is The Propers of the Sunday Mass – these are the readings, responses and prayers for the Mass on Sundays, special Feast Days and Solemnities. It is essentially the Missalette. Many of our clients are lectors in their parishes and use the Propers to serve their communities. Others use the Propers for their own private prayer and to help them prepare for and participate in Mass when they attend.

The Propers are mailed out to patrons two months in advance, so they are sure to arrive in plenty of time for patrons to prepare for Mass. The Propers are also available for download in .BRF, audio, and large print (rich text format).

Textbooks for CCD and RCIA

Did you know that we were founded in 1900 to provide young children with braille textbooks? We continue to make this a priority. Learn more about textbooks and other braille offerings for children and young adults by clicking here. If you are an adult and need materials for RCIA, please get in touch! You can reach us at info@xaviersocietyfortheblind.org or calling us at 212-473-7800 or 800-637-9193.

New American Bible

We can send out individual books of the New American Bible (Old and New Testament) upon request! This is the translation approved by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). In addition to hard copy braille, the entire Bible is available in .BRF for download from our website. We also have a collection of Bible stories for children available in our braille library.

Periodicals

Xavier Society for the Blind has a long history of making the best in Catholic literature and information available. We provide The Catholic Review, our magazine that is distributed in braille three times a year. It is a compilation of outstanding articles from periodicals such as America magazine, Catholic Digest, Our Sunday Visitor, Maryknoll, and many more.

In addition to The Catholic Review, we also send out our magazine The Xavier Review, three times a year in braille. The Xavier Review rounds up the latest news from Xavier Society, recent additions in braille and audio, and other useful information. Both The Catholic Review and The Xavier Review are available for download in audio and BRF for patrons on our secure online catalog. If you are a client and in need of your log-in details to download audio or BRF files, please contact Client Services at 212-473-7800 or clientservices@xaviersocietyfortheblind.org. 

Special Requests

We cannot always anticipate the specific requests of our clients, and so we welcome and encourage special requests as they arise. For instance, each year we regularly braille selected catechetical textbooks (especially as needed for young people in catechism classes), major Vatican documents, and prayers and devotions for specific celebrations or religious groups. We are always open to suggestions of new materials that our clients may need or want, and we always try to fill special requests when we receive them. Please keep in mind we have one transcriber in house, so we try to accommodate special requests when we can, but it is not always possible.