A large fire destroyed St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Maria Stein, Ohio, U.S.A., on May 29. The historic Ohio church held its first Mass in 1836, and was dedicated in 1891, Father Ken Schnipke said. However, the faith of the people remains strong. The fire is currently being investigated by police; but there were no deaths, nor injuries from the fire. (Image of the interior of the church from FB)
Fr. Ken said: I arrived at St. John's yesterday about 2:45 pm with the church roof almost fully engulfed in flames and smoke. The first call to the fire department went out at 2:31 which means the fire spread quickly. Chickasaw, Minster, New Bremen and many other fire departments quickly responded with Chief Joe Hartings coordinating the efforts. We are grateful for all the first responders who came to help. Our Marion and Christ Our Light staff and parishioners quickly jumped in contacting the Archdiocese and beginning to plan for where celebrate Mass, the prayer service last night and how to keep our St. John faith community nourished and strengthened by the sacraments. One of the first calls I received was from Archbishop Casey assuring us of his prayers and support, and his was followed by many others from the Archdiocese, including risk management, property management, finance, liturgy and media relations all helping us deal with the fire at hand and all the follow up to come. By late afternoon the state fire marshal was onsite, insurance representatives and by evening First On Site, a company specializing in church restoration after fires and other kinds of tragic events. A team from the Archdiocese is here with us at Mass, who along with the fire department, insurance agents, structural engineers and restoration specialists will be meeting this morning to better assess the damage, what may be salvaged and where we go from here.
If you have not seen the church, the roof is completely gone with the remaining debris laying inside. The fire department sprayed a lot of water on the entire church including steeple and spire above, but could not get inside to spray the smoldering embers under the slate. A little after 7 PM the spire tilted toward the south and came down in front of the church. Uncertain of the integrity of the remaining walls, it was not safe for fire personnel to enter, although drones provided some images of the St. Joseph statute, the stations and walls, the cross on the back of church and parts of the organ and choir loft. The bells are still in the tower and we hope to have a crane here today to remove them to keep them from falling to the floor. While the damage is severe, the restoration specialists were also hopeful that more could be salvaged than what appears. They are also hopeful that with the way the church roof collapsed inside and the spire tilted south, the integrity of the walls may not have been compromised. The key to salvage and restoration is to act quickly. First One Site began arriving last night about 9 PM, overnight they set up fencing to secure the area and as soon as the structural engineers assess the walls, will be moving into salvage and clean what they can. While I know many would like to help in the church, we need to let the salvage and restoration specialists do their work. They know what to look for, how best to get at it and preserve it. A few parishioners familiar with things in church and where they were located will be helping. It will be a long and difficult process, but I am also convinced that nothing is impossible with God and we have the right people in place to help us assess the damage, discern what we need to do and to put that into action.
I must admit my heart sank as I drove up to St. John yesterday afternoon and as the spire fell to the ground, but I have also been seeing many signs of hope with all who have come to our help learning what may be salvaged from the church and the beginning of steps to rebuild. Yes, you will weep and mourn, but your grief will become joy.
During the St. John Church painting process, Masses were moved to Precious Blood and that seemed to work okay. So we are planning for Masses to be held at Precious Blood. This first weekend Precious Blood will have Mass at 5 PM, 9 AM and 10:30 AM, but we may need to adjust the schedule to deal with traffic flow between Masses. Staff have also set up the basement for overflow as we have grown over the years and may need more space. It may also be a bit more complicated this first weekend with the Chickasaw picnic, but also trust it will work out.
While the church is certainly the center of our community. We also know that life continues and that includes our young people excelling in many areas including sports. Today we have members of the baseball and track teams with us. Now I have to be careful as several of our Christ Our Light schools are also in the running. So I pray that you give your best and your all and that you all do well.
Yes, you will weep and mourn, but your grief will become joy.
Fr. Ken Schnipke, C.PP.S., Pastor, Christ Our Light Family of Parishes
May 29, 2025
The following statement was released by Archbishop Robert G. Casey this afternoon to the people of St. John the Baptist Church in Maria Stein, Ohio: Dear parishioners of St. John the Baptist, I was deeply saddened to hear of the fire this afternoon at our beloved St. John the Baptist Church in Maria Stein. While the fire appears to have caused great damage, I am confident that the faith of this community remains strong.
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