Columbus Catholic priest safe after Kabul attack

A Columbus native and military chaplain who ministered to 10 of the U.S. service members killed in an attack at the Kabul airport Thursday is safe.

Photos of Navy Lt. Dan Swartz, a priest in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Columbus, have been circulating on social media accounts of local residents, officials and organizations concerned with his welfare and asking for prayers.

Swartz was called the last priest in Kabul by many on social media, as he was serving for several days in Kabul, Afghanistan, as a U.S. Navy lieutenant assigned to the Marine Corps, said Taylor Henry, director of public affairs and media relations at the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA.

He was deployed from Camp Pendleton in California, Henry said. Swartz is no longer in Afghanistan, Henry said, but didn’t know where he was on Tuesday morning.

In response to a Facebook message sent by the Dispatch Tuesday morning through Swartz’s personal blog, Swartz said he isn’t able to speak to media outlets right now.

“Out of respect to the families and my men who are still mourning I will have to respectfully decline until such a time as is appropriate,” Swartz wrote.

A post on the page from Aug. 30 lists the loss of 10 men from Swartz’s battalion in the Abbey Gate attack at the Kabul airport.

“I knew each of these men and had the honor of serving them all as their chaplain,” he wrote. “Their sacrifice was offered in the midst of trying to help people escape a dangerous and desperate situation.”

The attack Thursday killed 13 U.S. service members and 169 civilians, according to news reports. It happened outside a main gate at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul and was an ISIS-K terrorist attack, USA Today reported.

Some photos on social media, including at tweet from Ohio Secretary of State Frank Larose, show Swartz in

front of men carrying a casket, a black stole around his neck. He is wearing fatigues, a mask covering his face. He said that photo is not of him in Afghanistan, but is from a 2020 training accident in California.

In a post on the Bishop Watterson High School Facebook page, Swartz is named as a 2007 graduate and the North Side high school asks that people pray for him.

In a Twitter message, St. Charles Preparatory High School’s soccer team also asked for prayers for Swartz, identifying him as their team chaplain.

On the website of the Perry County Consortium of Catholic Parishes Swartz is named as having served as the parochial vicar from 2018 to 2019. dking@dispatch.com @Danaeking

FACEBOOK PHOTO COURTESY OF DAN SWARTZ. Navy Lt. Dan Swartz, who graduated from Bishop Watterson High School, is shown in Afghanistan, where he served as a chaplain.

CAROLYN KASTER/AP A carry team moves the remains of Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, 20, of Rancho Cucamonga, California, at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. The Rev. Dan Swartz, a Bishop Watterson High School graduate, ministered before the Kabul attack to some of those who were killed.