At Villanova University, the Augustinian Catholic university in Philadelphia and the alma mater of Pope Leo XIV, the opening of the year was to begin peacefully with the Orientation Mass for new students and their families. In the middle of the Office on the Rowen Campus Green, an alert message arrived at 4:35 PM: a report of an active shooter. Families and students were immediately directed inside buildings; elsewhere on campus and in the surrounding area, a shelter-in-place order was given. The liturgy was halted, as was the celebration that was to follow (a family picnic).
An Investigation, Then Relief: "A Hoax"
Local police immediately opened an investigation that afternoon. A short time later, shortly after 6:00 PM, the university president, Father Peter Donohue, sent a message to the community: "no one was injured" and "there was no shooter". He described the incident as a "cruel hoax" and apologized to the first-year students: "this is not the welcome I had hoped for you".
Public Reactions: Denunciation of "Swatting" and Law Enforcement Action
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro wrote on X that it was "a cruel swatting incident, when a person calls to report a false threat in order to provoke panic". He added: "I know today was every parent's nightmare, and every student's greatest fear", expressing his gratitude that "no one was injured" and thanking "all law enforcement members who ran toward reports of danger to protect Pennsylvanians".
For his part, the Archbishop of Philadelphia, Most Reverend Nelson Perez, published a message of thanksgiving: "We all join in prayerful gratitude at the recent announcement from Villanova University that no one was injured this afternoon and that the situation on campus has been resolved". He assured the Church's prayers for "all those who feared for their safety today" and thanked law enforcement and first responders.
The Prayer That Seals the Orientation
In his email, Father Donohue shared the prayer he says each year at the end of the Orientation Mass. After the ordeal experienced, his words take on even greater strength:
"May God bless you and protect you."
"May your heart and mind be united in faith, so that you may love wisely, work creatively, laugh wholeheartedly, and live in honesty."
"May you use your education to bring justice and peace to the world, for the good of our human family and all of God's creation."
"And may you always know that you are loved."
The Meaning of Such a Shock for a Catholic University
Interrupting the Opening Mass strikes at the heart: this moment of welcome, so important for the life of a campus, was disfigured by a false alert intended to sow fear. Thanks be to God, no one was injured; but the fright was real. Here, the response remained both professional and prayerful: a rapid investigation, protection of people, clear communication, gratitude to rescuers, and a return to the essential through prayer.
In the spirit of the Catholic tradition, we give thanks for this outcome, we entrust to God the students, families, and staff, and we ask for peace of heart: may this academic year be marked by faith, joy, and the pursuit of justice, and not by the panic that swatting attempts seek to provoke.