I'm used to seeing catholic churches in AZ looking like this:
Posted on 05/04/2024 9:04:27 AM PDT by george76
St. William Catholic Church in Cashion, Arizona, was destroyed in an overnight fire May 1. The fire broke out just before 1 a.m. Local station Fox 10 Phoenix reported that firefighters arrived and found flames coming from the attic of the church. The roof of the church ultimately collapsed as firefighters fought the flames.
"This is a devastating loss to this community," Avondale Fire Battalion Chief Steve Mayhew said. "This church is a pillar of this community, so definitely a lot of heartbreak this morning."
"I also run the pantry here at St. Williams — that's gone," Gonzalo Ortiz, a parishioner, told Fox 10. "So now we're going to have to get some food, somehow, to all these people. We're going to need a lot of prayers. We also are going to need a lot of help."
Father Andres Arango, pastor of St. William, wrote on the parish's website, "as many of you know, we had a major fire on campus very early this morning and it appears the church has been totally destroyed. Thankfully no one was injured and everyone is safe."
"An official investigation on the cause of the fire is being handled by local officials," he added. "The campus is closed off during this investigation."
He wrote that "plans for a location for future Masses are currently being developed."
Brett Meister, director of communications for the Diocese of Phoenix, told The Arizona Republic that insurance would determine the extent of the damage. "It's pretty evident. The church, the classrooms and the parish hall are virtually irreparable," he said, adding that foul play did not appear to be the cause of the fire.
According to the parish's website, St. William was founded 50 years ago and has "relocated several times over the past 50 years." Currently located in Cashion, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix, "St. William is the parent parish to Santa Maria de Guadalupe Mission," the website says.
My bet is on arson, based on current events.
More pics of damage:
Last month Prescott Valley had an Awful arson attack——
I'm used to seeing catholic churches in AZ looking like this:
The warehouse motif is common in AZ. The church I attend is one (St Edward). We have raised $3 million to build a more proper church with more capacity.
Right. No one knows how the fire started at this point.
Holy smoke!
Combine Romex wiring with regular breakers with mice squirrels, etc., and you have an arc and a fire.
Article says it started in the attic which leads one to suspect wiring.
According to the story you linked to, the cause of the fire is still being investigated, whereas this article says that foul play is not suspected. It would have been nice to know why foul play was not suspected considering all of the attacks on Catholic churches in recent years.
Yeah, I was expecting something far more aesthetic. I’ve never seen a Catholic church that looks like that before.
With no signs of arson right away, they have to assume there is no foul play. If there is, evidence will be uncovered and that's soon enough to announce it.
It may well have done so.
What I should have said is that, lacking evidence of anything else, I would consider arson first under the current political/societal dynamics
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