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This week’s Minneapolis shooting targeting a Catholic school Mass that killed two children and injured 17 has raised safety concerns for Philadelphia’s Catholic school community. In Philadelphia, where the Archdiocese oversees one of the largest Catholic school systems in the country, students, parents, and administrators are confronting renewed safety concerns in their churches and classrooms.
“It was just so tragic that while they were trying to enhance their faith that it happened,” said Lauren Savko, a student at Sacred Heart Academy, an independent Catholic school in Bryn Mawr. “It makes me think like, when I’m in church, could that happen to me?”
Philadelphia is home to roughly 60 Catholic schools, most of which are K-8 schools. The Archdiocese of Philadelphia runs the majority of these schools in Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs.
“Each school in the Archdiocese works diligently at all times to preserve safe environments,” said Ken Gavin, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s chief communications officer. “Understandably, there is heightened anxiety regarding school safety on the national level at this time.”
According to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, there have been at least 390 attacks on Catholic sites, including “vandalism, arson, or other destruction.” Five of the attacks occurred in Philadelphia.
“While we would not disclose the specifics of any safety and security plans, I can confirm that regular reviews of emergency protocols take place,” Gavin said. “Those reviews are part of ongoing plans related to school safety and are typically shared with local first responders.”