” “A choir of hearing-impaired persons to sing silence in the sign language: it will be included in the group of artists who this afternoon will take part in one of the three ceremonies for the official opening of the WYD, the "Welcome festival". The celebrations will follow the Holy Communions which will be held in Cologne, Boss and Düsseldorf by cardinal Joachim Meisner, archbishop of Cologne, by bishop Franz-Josep Bode, president of the Bishop Committee for Youth, and by cardinal Karl Lehmann, president of the German Bishop Conference, respectively. As planned by the organisers, the WYD stands out just for the high number of disabled people (about 6,000) and for the events that have been planned around this fact. So, one of the shows will include the Youth Sign Language Choir of St. George, established in 2004 to play a leading role at the WYD. It will also sing at the final Mass in Marienfeld next Sunday. The choir, composed of 18 hearing and hearing-impaired persons, uses the eyes and body to communicate the rhythm of the songs through silence. "We hope stated Juliane Mergenbaum, co-founder of the choir that we will not be seen just as people with special needs but as real artists".
