Historic Church of the Diocese of Lafayette Burns

THE CHURCH

The Church of the Immaculate Conception in Washington was established in 1756. The church building destroyed Friday was built in 1856. The church predates the founding of St. Landry Parish.

THE FIRE
The fire was reported at 9:43 a.m. Friday, and is believed to have started between 9:15 and 9:30. Three women who were cleaning the historic church reported seeing smoke coming from vents in the church. By 9:46, the church was engulfed in flames. The cause remains under investigation. No one was hurt.

I found this at the Opinionated Catholic.  Very, very sad news for the Church of South Louisiana.  Here is the story from the Advertiser:

Lisa Arnoth loaded her son into her car, but took a moment to gaze down the street toward the gutted remains of one of St. Landry Parish's oldest churches. Small fires still smoldered in the heap of charred wood and twisted metal, all that remained of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, a 155-year-old building that was the spiritual heart for many in Washington.

"I took my first Communion there, " Arnoth said. "I took catechism classes there. I was an altar girl. My grandfather and I used to go to Mass there every Saturday. He's gone now. There were a lot of memories in that Church, a lot of memories going down."

Fire raced through the church in minutes shortly before 10 a.m. Friday morning and quickly burned it to the ground, officials said. No one was hurt. On Friday, women who had finished cleaning the church earlier, said they saw smoke coming from vents in the building. However, the cause of the fire remains under investigation, according to District 3 Fire Chief Nick Vidrine.

Father Albert Nunez has served the congregation for more than eight years.

"As you can imagine, there are a lot of memories for the people here," he said. "The Church is its people. But there are a lot of memories."

Only a few hours before, congregants gathered for early morning Mass. Nunez said Mass would continue today as scheduled at nearby St. Joseph Hall on the campus.

"I feel a great sense of loss, but thank God no one was hurt."

Firefighters from Washington, Ville Platte, Opelousas and Leonvville battled the blaze. The Washington police, as well as St. Landry Parish deputies, were also at the scene.

Clara Darbonne, a euchasristic minister for the church, administers communion to Immaculate Conception's elderly shut-in parishioners. Everything seemed normal at the church as she set up for Saturday Mass, and then set out to make her rounds

"I can't believe I didn't see smoke or anything," she said. "I'm just thankful they got the tabernacle out and that no one was hurt."

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