CV NEWS FEED // Less than a week after a Catholic mission church in Arizona burned down in an overnight fire, the church’s congregation was able to attend Mass together in a temporary location.
On May 2, St. William Catholic Church in Avondale, Arizona completely burned down in a fire overnight. Police are still working to determine the fire’s cause.
Nearly 1,000 families attend the mission church. On May 5, hundreds of parishioners were able to attend Mass as a congregation in a temporary location, nearby at Santa Maria de Guadalupe Mission.
Parishioner Maria Lopez told FOX 10, “It was like 1982. We walked to that church, we made a procession from the old church to the new church. There were hundreds of people.”
St. William also served families in need through its food bank. Now, parishioners are rallying to support the affected families through donations and coordinating with a local community center.
Alize Samarrik told FOX 10, “Thanks to Mercy House, who is down the street, they’re providing a temporary place where we can go, and what we’re thinking is, rather than having to deal with all the food items and where we can store them, we’re going to provide, possibly, we’re trying to get gift cards.”
According to FOX 10, the church is working to rebuild and is accepting donations. Bishop Eduardo Nevares of the diocese of Phoenix told FOX 10 that the community’s generosity and supportiveness has been a powerful witness in response to the fire.
“This was just a beautiful example of what kind of faith community we have. Yes, it was a [tragedy]. Yes, it was very sad, but they were still thinking of others,” said Bishop Nevares.
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