Vandals painted swastikas at three nearby cemeteries in Montgomery County, police said

Three Roman Catholic cemeteries within a square mile of each other in Montgomery County were targeted early Thursday by vandals who spray-painted several headstones with swastikas, according to police.

A passerby noticed the graffiti about 6 a.m. at St. Benedict Cemetery, on Colwell Lane in Plymouth Township, and reported it to local police, according to Police Chief John Myrsiades. While investigating that vandalism, officers found more swastikas, seemingly made by the same person or people using the same paint, at Old St. Matthew Cemetery, nearby in Conshohocken, and St. Matthew Cemetery in Whitemarsh Township.

“Besides the fact that it’s vile and hateful, something like this hits you where you’re most sensitive: your loved ones,” Myrsiades said. “We want people to know we feel their pain and will be aggressive in pursuing this.”

Myrsiades said his officers were reviewing surveillance footage from the area and believed they may have developed a potential suspect, who was seen driving near the cemeteries about 4 a.m. He declined to provide more information, citing the active investigation.

For David Swedkowski, the executive director of the St. Mary Polish American Historical Society, the vandalism hits close to home. Many of his relatives are buried at St. Benedict, including two who died just last year.

“It was just shock and disbelief, seeing this,” Swedkowski said. “We’ve heard of incidents like this happening in different communities around the country and around the world, but I never thought this would happen in our quiet town, in the space where our loved ones are buried.”

The graffiti also assault the work he and his colleagues in the historical society have done to maintain the memory of St. Mary, a historically Polish church that merged with St. Matthew, along with several other smaller parishes, in 2014.

All three cemeteries contain the graves of Polish immigrants, many of whom came to this country fleeing the Nazis during World War II. Old St. Matthew holds graves from even earlier, with some dating to the Civil War, according to Swedkowski.

Given that history, and the morning’s news of conflict in eastern Europe, the discovery of the graffiti served as a call to action.

“We’re still not sure if this is a targeted campaign of hate or just stupid kids who had nothing better to do ... ‚” Swedkowski said. “Regardless, we want to send a message that we’re stronger than that, better than that, and we won’t let that deter us from our mission of promoting our Polish heritage in Montgomery County.”

Members of the St. Mary Polish American Historical Society planned to hold a short prayer service at St. Benedict on Thursday evening, amid the vandalized graves.

Meanwhile, Plymouth Township police are asking anyone with information about who was responsible for the vandalism to call them at 610-279-1901.