Patron Stories: Lynn

In the mid-1980s a Catholic friend told me about Xavier Society for the Blind (XSB) and gave me the phone number. I called and soon became an XSB client receiving various magazines on tape and in braille. In 2002 I visited XSB with my husband and we gave a donation in appreciation of all your good work. Later I donated a pine needle basket I had made to be used in a silent auction fund raiser for XSB.

Years later when speaking with Christine of the XSB staff, I mentioned to her that one of the things on my “bucket list” was to hear Cardinal Timothy Dolan speak in person at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Six months later I received a call from Christine asking me if I could come to New York from California to participate in a St. Lucy’s Mass on Sunday December 13, 2015. My husband and I flew to New York. I brought up the gifts and gave them to Cardinal Dolan during the mass. I was so nervous and I’ll always remember how kind and reassuring he was. After mass, Christine had arranged as a surprise for me to meet personally with Cardinal Dolan and have my photograph taken with him. He was surprised to learn how far I had traveled to participate in this Mass.

In April of 2016 my husband and I made a Pilgrimage to Ireland with (former Executive Director of XSB) Father John Sheehan along with other clients of XSB. It was inspiring to have a Mass every day, talk about our Catholic faith and learn how XSB had been so helpful to all of us through the years by providing Catholic literature in accessible form. I enjoyed seeing and touching so many religious monuments, learning about the history of each of the sacred Catholic sites and the life of St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. 

I continue to receive braille materials from XSB along with their e-mail newsletter. XSB has become an important part of my spiritual life and I encourage all of my Catholic visually impaired friends to join me in helping support the valuable work of the Xavier Society for the Blind.