Massachusetts church destroyed by fire will be rebuilt

Published: 2005-06-23

WEYMOUTH, Mass. (CNS) -- The auditorium at Sacred Heart School in Weymouth erupted in cheers and applause when Father Daniel J. Riley, pastor, announced that Boston Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley had given his approval to rebuild the parish church which had been destroyed in fire only eight days earlier. "This is the moment we've all been waiting for," Father Riley said during the June 17 end-of-school-year Mass. "With enthusiasm, Archbishop Sean has given us his complete blessing to build a new church." The 134-year-old church was decimated in a seven-alarm fire on the evening of June 9. According to the state fire marshal, the cause of the fire was a malfunctioning refrigerator in the basement of the church. Father Riley said Archbishop O'Malley is "passionately committed" to the school and has directed him to use some of the insurance money to strengthen the school if that is legally permissible. "

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