A symbol of Christ’s Resurrection often seen in Christian iconography is the mythical creature known as the phoenix. This legendary bird dies in a flurry of flames only to be reborn from the ashes. The May 29 fire at St. John the Baptist Church in Maria Stein destroyed the sanctuary’s …

By AC Wimmer CNA Newsroom, Jan 11, 2025 / 06:15 am Pope Francis expressed his condolences Saturday to Los Angeles communities affected by devastating wildfires that have destroyed homes and churches, including the historic Corpus Christi Catholic Church. In a telegram released by the Vatican’s secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, …

By Jonathan Liedl Rome Newsroom, Aug 1, 2023 / 09:48 am The incorrupt body of St. Benedict the Moor, a 16th-century son of slaves who joined the Franciscans and would become the patron saint of African missions, has been all but destroyed after a wildfire engulfed the Sicilian church where he …

By CNA Staff Denver Newsroom, Jul 12, 2022 / 16:19 pm Half of the Chapels of Light at Our Lady of Lourdes shrine in France were destroyed by a fire during the night of July 10–11. The fire was quickly brought under control. “Another hard blow for the Shrine at Lourdes, …

by CNA Staff Vatican City, Jan 10, 2022 / 05:41 am Pope Francis is praying for the victims of New York City’s deadliest fire in decades, the Vatican said on Monday. A Jan. 10 telegram to Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York said that the pope offered his “heartfelt condolences” to the …

by Jonah McKeown Denver, Colo., Jan 6, 2022 / 19:19 pm A Catholic couple who lost their home in a historic Colorado wildfire late last year say they have experienced “absolutely heroic virtue” from their neighbors, as they and thousands of others reel from the complete loss of their homes. …

CNA Staff, Jul 31, 2020 / 07:15 pm MT (CNA).- An unidentified man threw a firebomb into a chapel of Managua’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on Friday, severely damaging the chapel and a devotional image of Christ more than three centuries old. “This was a planned act, very calmly …

By Jonah McKeown Denver Newsroom, Jul 28, 2020 / 02:30 pm MT (CNA).- A fire tore through the parish offices of a historic Catholic church in Monroe, North Carolina early Monday morning, and though the damage is extensive, the church’s pastor is thankful that the blaze did not touch the …

by Courtney Mares Rome Newsroom, Jul 26, 2020 / 04:00 am MT (CNA).- A church volunteer has admitted to starting the fire at Nantes Cathedral and was charged with arson on Saturday. The 39-year-old Rwandan refugee — who had been detained and released by the police immediately following the July …