Historic church will rise from ashes, bishop tells parishioners

Published: 2005-02-04

PROVINCETOWN, Mass. (CNS) -- Four days after seeing their vintage church go up in flames, parishioners of St. Peter's Church in this town on the tip of Cape Cod stood and applauded when Bishop George W. Coleman of Fall River announced that a new house of worship would be built. On Jan. 29, Bishop Coleman celebrated a Mass in the parish hall that was attended by 300 people. He comforted and assured them that their parish would survive the Jan. 25 fire that destroyed their 130-year-old church. The three-alarm blaze, apparently started by an electrical problem, quickly burned through the church's wooden structure, leading to the collapse of the roof and steeple, and leaving only the outer walls standing. But at a reception following the Mass in the parish hall, Bishop Coleman spoke optimistically about the future of the parish. "I am pleased to assure you that the church was fully insured," he said. "This parish, with the intercession of St. Peter, will build a new church building."

Copyright (c) 2005 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .