Church on fire – priest saves Eucharist at the last minute

When his church caught fire, a priest in northern France ran into the burning building and saved the hosts. "The fire brigade accepted that I would go into the church and look around to see what I could take with me quickly," Sébastien Roussel told the RCF radio station on Tuesday. "I was able to take the Blessed Sacrament with me and bring it to the cathedral," said the priest of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in one of the suburbs of Saint-Omer, which burned to the ground on Sunday night.

The authorities are considering arson as the cause of the fire. A man born in 1985 was taken into custody. He has already attracted attention for similar offences in the past. Roussel's impressions of the night of the fire still resonate: "It's quite impressive to walk into your church and see the sky. You go there to pray that the heavens will open. And then the sky is visible."

Great consternation

There is great consternation in Saint-Omer about the fire. The building from the middle of the 19th century had only been extensively renovated a few years ago. Mass had been celebrated there on Sunday just hours before the fire. "We will celebrate the next mass for the restoration," says Roussel. The church was originally the church of the vegetable farmers. The region had already suffered from flooding in the past. Local Bishop Olivier Leborgne will visit the parish on Wednesday.

There have been numerous incidents related to religion in France in the past. There have been fires in churches across the country, including arson attacks. There are also disputes about the threat of terrorism in churches, religious symbols in public spaces and abuse in the church. (cph)