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September 5, 2023By Gina Christian, Julie Asher OSV News
(OSV News) -- Oregon's Catholic archbishop joined some 300 faithful for Mass in the rain, hours after a devastating fire had heavily damaged their historic church in Salem.
"My heart is really just filled with emotion," said a visibly moved Archbishop Alexander K. Sample of Portland, adding he was "deeply saddened by what has happened to your house."
A four-alarm blaze broke out in the overnight hours of Aug. 31 at St. Joseph Church in downtown Salem, destroying the roof and portions of the interior.
The parish's adjacent Catholic grade school remained intact, with classes set to open on time for the new academic year. According to city officials, no fatalities or other casualties were reported, with firefighters safely evacuating at least one priest from an adjacent building. Several nearby road closures were in place for almost 10 hours as crews worked to contain the fire.
Investigators have ruled the fire -- reported to have begun in a dumpster, and quickly spreading to the church's roof -- as an arson. Police have arrested Billy James Sweeten, 48, who now faces first-degree arson charges.
OSV News is awaiting a response from the Marion County District Attorney on what specifically led investigators to identify Sweeten as a suspect.
"This is a sad day," St. Joseph pastor Father Jeff Meeuwsen told local media, speaking just before he joined Archbishop Sample and the faithful for an Aug. 31 afternoon Mass, celebrated in the church parking lot under pop-up tents and a huddle of umbrellas. Several parishioners knelt in the rain during the liturgy.
Archbishop Sample reminded the congregation the fire "may have burned the building, but the church is her people."
St. Joseph -- a diverse community with Masses in English, Spanish, Vietnamese and Latin -- is the oldest Catholic parish in Salem, tracing its roots to 1853, when Catholics initially met in a rented building.
Its first church, originally named for St. John, was dedicated in 1864. As the Sisters of the Holy Names, who served at the parish, acquired nearby property to build an academy, a new church was dedicated in 1889, and renamed St. Joseph as Oregon City already had a church in honor of St. John.
The present church was dedicated in 1953. The parish currently serves some 3,500 families.
"We will recover what we can, when we can," Father Meeuwsen told media before the Aug. 31 Mass. "Keep praying for us."