Diocese of Springfield closes all Catholic schools in its Illinois territory
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The Diocese of Springfield announced Friday that all Catholic schools in its territory will be closed from March 16-20.
The cancellation includes all extra-curricular activities, social events, and other school-related gatherings. The diocese will an offer an update by March 20 to announce whether schools will reopen or stay closed into the future.
The diocese includes Madison County and affects a number of metro-east schools including:
- Ss. Peter and Paul Elementary School in Alton
- St. Mary Elementary School in Alton
- Our Lady Queen of Peace in Bethalto
- Ss. Peter and Paul Elementary School in Collinsville
- St. Boniface Elementary School in Edwardsville
- St. Mary Elementary School in Edwardsville
- St. Ambrose Catholic School in Godfrey
- Holy Famliy Elementary School in Granite City
- St. Elizabeth Elementary School in Granite City
- St. Paul Elementary School in Highland
- St. John Neumann in Maryville
- Marquette Catholic High School in Alton
- Father McGivney Catholic High School in Maryville
The diocese also announced that it has instructed priests to add an additional Mass if more than 250 people are expected to attend.
The decision is the first to close elementary and high schools in the region but joins a list of colleges that have canceled in-person classes, including at SIUE, Lindenwood-Belleville, and Kaskaskia College. SWIC announced Friday it was extending spring break for an additional week.
This story was originally published March 13, 2020 at 3:06 PM.
