Early morning blaze damages St. Therese Church
MIDVALE — The fire that destroyed the sanctuary of St. Therese of the Child Jesus Catholic Church in Midvale Jan. 4, likely smoldered for hours, officials of the Midvale Fire Department said. When Juan Carlos Martinez opened the church’s main doors just before the scheduled 8 a.m. daily Mass, smoke poured from the building, and the oxygen-starved fire roared up, consuming the ambo, the creche set, and the altar, and seriously damaging the sanctuary candle holders. The church that had been renovated within the past two years is now suffering from smoke and water damage as well. "This is devastating," said Father Martin Diaz, who called 9-1-1 the minute he saw the smoke. "It’s heartbreaking to see what was so beautiful last night looking so dark and wounded this morning." But it didn’t take long for Fr. Diaz, Deacon Stan Stott, and parishioners who had arrived for the morning Mass to begin making plans for the weekend. Deacon Stott was on the phone to members of the parish’s Knights of Columbus, who arrived and began setting up chairs in the parish social hall. "Basically, we have everything we need to have Sunday Masses in the hall and daily Masses in the chapel" said Fr. Diaz. "We’ll just make do and move on." A quick inventory of the still-smoking sanctuary revealed an undamaged baptistry and tabernacle, and a large statue of the risen Lord badly in need of cleaning. "Mary and Joseph survived," Fr. Diaz said of the statuary near the sanctuary, but they and the Stations of the Cross will need a lot of work. We’re blessed that the body of the church, the physical structure, is sound. As of this writing accurate assessments for the repair of the church, replacement of the ambo and the altar, and smoke and water clean-up are not available. Fire officials from Midvale Fire Department and its arson investigators are not certain what started the fire, but were estimating Jan. 4 the accidental cause might have been electrical, with its source in or near the ambo, or perhaps an unattended candle. Midvale Mayor JoAnn Seghini arrived at the church as the fire department was folding up their hoses. "Thank you for helping to save our church," Mayor Seghini said to each of the firefighters. After receiving reports from the firefighters and walking into the sanctuary, Mayor Seghini said, "It’s not nearly as bad as it could have been. It will be easy to rebuild what has been damaged. "The people of St. Therese Parish are remarkable," she said. "They’re not going to let this even slow them down. With a lot of people and a lot of prayer and a lot of clean-up, the church will be as good as new soon." Fr. Diaz agreed. "Yes, we have to go on. The altar area of the church was refurbished just two years ago. What is important is the people of God. It’s the people who are the church, and we are grateful that no one was injured in this fire." By mid-weekend, Father Diaz was hearing from his brother priests and pastors, and the parish had already received one generous donation from a parishioner. "Father Peter Rogers called us from St. Catherine of Siena Parish to tell us they were sending us a donation and that they are praying for us. It means so much to us. Msgr. J. Terrence Fitzgerald, vicar general of the Diocese of Salt Lake City, said he is certain the parish’s patron, St. Therese of Liseaux, also known as "The Little Flower," was watching over the church that Friday morning, "making certain no one was injured. "I’m certain she sent down a shower of roses to help put out the fire and limit the damage to the building," Msgr. Fitzgerald said. "She was a woman of strong prayer, and I’m sure her intercession on behalf of that parish was instrumental in keeping the situation from being much worse." St. Therese of the Child Jesus Parish was founded in 1925 by Father (later Msgr.) Patrick Maguire. With St. Patrick Parish in Salt Lake City, St. Therese Parish has been a first parish for many of the immigrants who have settled in the Diocese of Salt Lake City. Today the parish has active Anglo and Spanish communities who together maintain an generous outreach to the poor. Fr. Diaz said Jan. 7 many of his senior parishioners shared stories of when they went to Mass in the parish hall 30 and 40 years ago. "So much has happened in our parish hall over the years, that it just feels like the right place for us all to be right now," he said. "We’re still arranging things. We had the altar in one place this weekend, but we’ll probably put it someplace else next weekend. We have a special closet designated for the Blessed Sacrament." Fr. Diaz said a parish council and assembly is scheduled for Jan. 13, at which parishioners will be asked for their input regarding repairs to the church and how the altar and ambo can be replaced. "I want to hear their ideas, and I think they deserve an opportunity to evaluate what has happened and what changes need to be made." Fr. Diaz said he spoke of the Three Kings in his homily on Sunday. "They first went to the palace to find Jesus, but Jesus was not there. Our people came to the church to find Jesus, but he was not there, either. "To avoid the King, the Magi went home by a different route. Jesus is here with us, and now we, too, are on a different route. In Spanish, we’re on el otro camino."
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