Snowstorm shuts schools, challenges parishes and boosts shelter need in Archdiocese of Baltimore

The first major snowstorm to hit the Archdiocese of Baltimore in a decade closed Catholic schools, disrupted Catholic Schools Week celebrations, prompted parishes to add extra Masses ahead of the storm and challenged Catholic social services agencies working to keep the region’s most vulnerable residents safe in bitterly cold temperatures.

The historic Stone Chapel at St. Francis De Sales Church in Abingdon is seen on a snow-filled Jan. 25 in Harford County. (Courtesy Father John Martinez)

The National Weather Service reported snow accumulations of up to 11 inches across the Baltimore region, including 10.6 inches in Columbia, 10.3 inches in Edgemere and 9.5 inches in Crofton. Western Maryland saw significant totals as well, with Cumberland receiving 8.6 inches.

Archbishop William E. Lori did not issue a formal dispensation from the Sunday Mass obligation but reminded Catholics they are not required to attend when travel is unsafe. He encouraged parishes to offer additional Saturday Masses before the storm and urged the homebound to tune into livestreams.

Parishes adjust, dig out

Many parishes followed the archbishop’s suggestion, adding vigil Masses ahead of the Sunday storm and holding some as early as 3 p.m., which he specifically permitted even though 4 p.m. is normally the earliest allowed.

St. Mark in Fallston added a Saturday evening Mass and canceled Sunday liturgies. Father Michael Foppiano, pastor, said attendance for the Saturday 4 p.m. Mass and the special 5:30 p.m. Mass totaled 760 people, slightly below the parish’s typical weekend attendance of about 850.

Snow removal was a major effort across the parish’s large campus.

Webster Dorsey, a neighbor of Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, part of the Catholic Community of South Baltimore, helps clear the church steps Jan. 26 after a significant snowfall that covered the region with up to a foot of snow, rain, and sleet. (Courtesy Collier Slade/Catholic Community of South Baltimore)

“We contract out the plowing of our parking lots, but our maintenance crew clears all the sidewalks and does touch-up work on the lots,” he said. “When you have an almost 40-acre campus, that’s a lot of snow blowing and shoveling.”

The storm marked the third Sunday affected by snow this winter at St. Mark, with winter weather affecting both attendance and offertory giving.

When it snows, Mass attendance is down and offertory giving is down, Father Foppiano said, noting that many parishioners who are unable to attend Mass in person mail in their offertory envelopes.

“Fortunately, many of our parishioners use electronic giving and are very generous, but there is still a cumulative effect of decreased attendance,” Father Foppiano said.

That financial strain is compounded by higher winter expenses such as plowing, labor costs and heating buildings even when they aren’t being used, he said.

Despite the logistical and financial challenges, the pastor said the absence of parishioners is what is felt most deeply.

“We miss see everyone on Sundays,” he said.

At St. Lawrence Martyr Parish in Hanover, Trinitarian Father Thomas Dymowski said his pastorate, which includes Resurrection of Our Lord in Laurel, was still “pretty much snowed in” Jan. 26. The parish’s maintenance supervisor remained stranded at home, and neither church property had been plowed.

“Once he’s (maintenance supervisor) able to get over to the church, we’ll make an assessment,” Father Dymowski said. “We have a wonderful group of volunteers from the men’s group, and I’m sure they will respond.”

The parish did not hold Sunday Masses or add additional Saturday liturgies. Both Saturday Masses were crowded, but not excessively so, Father Dymowski said.

At some parishes, the Saturday evening atmosphere felt more like Christmas Eve. It was standing-room-only at St. John in Hydes, and only a few seats were available at Church of the Resurrection in Ellicott City.

St. Joseph in Sykesville held one extra Mass on Saturday for a total of two, drawing about 900 people, according to Tom Schwartz, director of facilities and infrastructure.

Dominican Father Michael Weibley, pastor of Ss. Philip and James in Homeland, maintained his parish’s usual Mass schedule, encouraging people to attend the vigil Mass and use prudence about Sunday attendance. The parish also serves the Catholic community at The Johns Hopkins University next door.

Kamran Zinalabedini, a fourth-grader at St. Louis School in Clarksville, catches air off his snowboard while enjoying the snowfall that blanketed the Maryland region with as much as 11 inches of white powder Jan. 25. Area schools are closed the next couple of days to allow for cleanup. (Courtesy Ashley Zinalabedini)

The Saturday vigil Mass attracted more than 400 people – a number Father Weibley called “huge.” Sunday Masses had very sparse attendance at 8 a.m., with more than 50 people at the 10:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. liturgies.

“These days can be tricky, but our folks and students from Hopkins were grateful we were open,” Father Weibley said. “Also, our adoration chapel was open throughout the day and there were a good number of people who came out to visit Jesus amidst the weather.”

Father Weibley said he and other Dominican friars helped clear snow and ice from the campus.

“We have a great guy who handles plowing our parking lot and sidewalks and he worked very hard all day Sunday and is at it today (Jan. 26) as well – a real labor of love,” he said.

Even in Western Maryland, where residents are more accustomed to heavy snow, the latest storm proved difficult.

“This storm was a bit different,” said Father William Keown, pastor of St. Peter the Apostle in Oakland and St. Peter at the Lake in McHenry. “Usually, when we have snow, the roads and parking areas are cleared right away. The snow combined with ice has added some challenges to those operations.”

The parish added an extra vigil Mass at 6 p.m. Saturday, with Sunday Masses canceled.

Father Keown praised his maintenance supervisor, Dave McKenzie, who arrived around 5:30 a.m. to clear the parking lot, sidewalks and entryways.

“There’s probably enough salt on the pavement here to last us through next winter,” Father Keown said.

Kasia Zinalabedini, from left, Kian Zinalabedini, and Kamran Zinalabedini, all students at St. Louis School in Clarksville, take a break from playing in the snow. (Courtesy Ashley Zinalabedini)

The parish was spared power outages, an outcome some parishioners had been praying for throughout the storm.

“One of our parishioners told me she was going to light a candle for people to keep their power during the storm,” Father Keown said. “A lot of people have been praying for that, I think.”

The pastor said he was surprised Jan. 26 to see his weather app report “freezing fog.”

“I didn’t even know that was a thing,” he said.

Impact on schools

The snowstorm forced the cancellation of numerous Catholic Schools Week events across the archdiocese, including planned visits by Archbishop Lori, Bishop Adam J. Parker, Chancellor of Education Gregory Farno and Superintendent of Catholic Schools School Sister of Notre Dame Patricia McCarron.

“It’s truly unfortunate,” Farno said, “but what can you do?”

Sister Patricia said some schools may keep activities going as planned if they reopen during Catholic Schools Week. Others might reschedule them, depending on circumstances.

The superintendent encouraged everyone to take time “to reflect on all of the gifts that we have in our Catholic schools, our people, our programs, our events. Pause and take time to thank God for all of these special gifts … especially our students.”

All Catholic schools in the archdiocese canceled classes Jan. 26, following decisions made by the municipal jurisdictions in which they are located regarding closures or weather-related delays. The archdiocese will count Jan. 26-28 as snow days if used.

If schools are closed later in the week, those days will be asynchronous learning days where students work online on prerecorded material at their own pace, Sister Patricia said.

“We’re taking it day by day,” Farno said. “We learn more each day.”

Charities keep services going

As temperatures plunged and snow blanketed the region, St. Vincent de Paul Baltimore activated emergency cold weather protocols across all three of its shelters to provide refuge for unsheltered families and individuals.

Sarah’s Hope in Baltimore City activated Freezing Weather services Jan. 22 and remained open through Jan. 27 at 9 a.m. The organization’s two Baltimore County shelters – SVDP Eastside in Rosedale and Hannah More in Reisterstown – activated Jan. 24 and remained in effect until Jan. 28 at 9 a.m.

Fifth-grader Connor Gibson from St. Louis School in Clarksville exits a snow tunnel built with a neighborhood friend following a winter storm that brought as much as 11 inches of snow, along with freezing rain and sleet, to the region Maryland region. It was the largest winter storm the area has experienced in a decade (Courtesy Kelly Gibson)

Across the three shelters, St. Vincent de Paul serves more than 150 families. In December alone, the organization served more than 200 additional people through its Freezing Weather Shelter services. During this storm, demand increased for both families with children and single adults. SVDP Eastside was over capacity during the weather event.

“Meeting this urgent need requires significant additional staffing and supplies,” said Savannah Alford-Jones, assistant director of communications for St. Vincent de Paul Baltimore. “On freezing weather days, SVDP expands overnight staff to ensure safety and support while providing warm beds and nutritious meals.”

The snowstorm created operational challenges including staffing, transportation and supplies. Beans and Bread in Fells Point, which serves hot meals, was closed over the weekend as part of its usual schedule and had to close Jan. 26 because of the weather.

St. Vincent de Paul is currently accepting donations of non-perishable food, bottled water, twin-sized sheets, blankets, warm clothing, cold-weather gear and hygiene supplies to help protect Baltimore’s most vulnerable residents.

Our Daily Bread Employment Center in Baltimore, operated by Catholic Charities of Baltimore, remained open after the storm, serving both breakfast and lunch. Not all normal services are currently available, but volunteers arrived to help serve the two meals, according to Norman Cofield, an activities director.

Nolan McCoy, archdiocesan director of facilities and real estate, said there were no reports of weather-related damage to archdiocesan properties.

Katie V. Jones and Gerry Jackson contributed to this story.

Email George Matysek at gmatysek@CatholicReview.org.