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March 8, 2010
Redemptorist Father Kevin Milton, pastor of Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Baltimore, has asked for prayers for the students, teachers, and families affected by last week’s announcement that the parish school will close in June.
The school is one of 13 in the Archdiocese of Baltimore that will close their doors at the end of this academic year. The closures are part of an archdiocesan-wide realignment of the school system.
“I want to thank Paul Llufrio, the principal, and our faculty,” Father Milton said. “I am so proud of them for who they are and what they have done over the years to enhance Catholic education at Our Lady of Fatima.”
He also thanked parishioners for their financial support, and the students and their parents/guardians for being “a rich part of the history of Catholic education in our parish and community.”
“To use Archbishop O’Brien’s image, it was a ‘perfect storm of events:’ The weakened economy, the rising cost of Catholic education and the steady decline of students,” Father Milton said, detailing the reasons for the closures. “We were assured that there was no mismanagement at any of the schools.”
Children at the affected schools will have a place in one of several schools designated by the archdiocese to receive students from closing schools. Father Milton pledged to help families “make the necessary adjustments to another Catholic school as painless as possible.”
Help will also be offered to teachers who wish to continue working at another Catholic school.
“To look at the brighter side of a dark picture, unless something drastic was done, we would have lost one school after another,” Father Milton said. “In the words of Archbishop O’Brien, the necessary realignment will hopefully bring greater life to the Catholic education system.”
“Please continue to strengthen our community through prayer and action, especially for those most affected by this decision: parents, students, faculty, administrators, principals and the general parish population.”
For more information about the realignment of Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Baltimore, read the reports from the Catholic Review.