Faith Fest Maryland is a community-wide Catholic faith festival organized in participation with the Archdiocese of Maryland under the leadership of Archbishop William E. Lori, one of the most senior figures in the American Catholic Church. The inaugural event drew an estimated 2,000 registrants to the Harford County Equestrian Center in Bel Air, Maryland, sponsored by eleven parishes across the Harford region.
The event featured live performances by nationally recognized Catholic music artists, multi-stage worship programming, family activities across the grounds, faith testimonies, sacramental blessings from area deacons, and a closing outdoor Mass celebrated by Archbishop Lori. The congregation spanned all ages, from young families with children to senior parishioners, drawing a community audience for whom the spiritual character of the gathering was as important as its safety.
Events of this nature present a distinct security profile: large open-air venues with dispersed crowd movement, high-profile religious leadership on site, a congregation that expects a welcoming and reverent atmosphere, and a multi-day schedule that extends into evening hours when perimeter control and crowd management require consistent, professional presence.
Securing a multi-day faith festival required OPPS to balance two objectives that can be difficult to reconcile: maintaining visible, effective security coverage throughout the event grounds while preserving the open, welcoming atmosphere a congregational gathering depends on.
The event’s specific requirements included:
Across the full weekend, from setup through final departure
For high-profile clergy, including the Archbishop, during arrivals, Mass, and public movement through the congregation
Across the open equestrian center grounds, managing the natural access challenges of an outdoor venue with multiple entry points
For peak-attendance periods, including the closing Mass, without creating a heavy law enforcement presence inconsistent with the event’s purpose
Coverage integrated seamlessly with event volunteers and parish representatives
With Archdiocese organizers and parish leadership across eleven participating parishes on event-day logistics and emergency procedures
Operational Police Protective Services deployed a coordinated team of armed off-duty police officers and armed security personnel across the Faith Fest venue for the full weekend. Coverage was structured across both internal event spaces and external grounds, maintaining a consistent protective presence from the first arrival of the congregation through the final evening closure.
Armed plainclothes and uniformed officers were positioned to protect the Archbishop and visiting clergy during high-visibility moments, including the opening and closing Mass, without creating a security apparatus inconsistent with the reverent character of those proceedings. Officers maintained situational awareness throughout the grounds, monitoring crowd flow at peak periods, managing access at entry points, and positioning for rapid response while remaining inconspicuous to the gathered congregation.
Coordination with Archdiocese event staff and parish representatives ensured that security procedures were integrated with the event’s programming schedule rather than running parallel to it, with communication protocols established before the weekend began.
Delivered across both days of the festival without incident
Provided for Archbishop William E. Lori and clergy throughout the event, including the closing outdoor Mass
managed safely through a multi-stage, multi-area outdoor venue
With Archdiocese event staff and eleven sponsoring parishes
Requiring public escalation, preserving the event’s atmosphere of worship and community
The Archdiocese of Maryland required a security partner with specific capabilities: armed officers with genuine law enforcement backgrounds, the professional judgment to protect a high-profile religious leader discreetly, and the temperament to operate within a congregation without disrupting the spiritual character of the event.
OPPS met that standard through its core hiring model, officers who hold or have held positions of public trust in law enforcement or the military. For an event where the security provider’s conduct reflects directly on the Archdiocese and its leadership, that foundation of public trust and professional discipline was the decisive factor.
Contact Operational Police Protective Services for a free security assessment.
