CHILE: Parish thanks charity for restoring torched Church
Parishoners at a historic church in Chile – that suffered extensive damage from an arson attack – have thanked a Catholic charity for helping them rebuild.
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) supported repairs to the 143-year-old Church of the Assumption, Santiago de Chile, after it was set ablaze on 18th October 2020.
As a result of the fire the roof caved in, the belltower collapsed and the altar was badly damaged.
Parish secretary Fidelia Oñac said it was “the sort of horror you see in other parts of the world – but you don’t think can happen here.
“We started praying and said: ‘We must do what we can, because the church belongs to everybody’.”
The fire followed the looting and vandalising of the historic church during street protests the previous November, when protestors took artwork and used confessionals and pews to build barricades in the streets.
Extensive renovation work was required, including reinforcing the walls, upgrading electrical wiring, as well as installing new doors, windows and roof.
The church formally reopened on Sunday 25th May, when Mass was celebrated by Cardinal Fernando Chomali.
Ms Oñac said: “We are very happy to see this church, and grateful to our bishop and our priests who accompanied us through the process until its conclusion.”
A badly damaged crucifix recovered from the ashes has been displayed in the restored church, and new pews and artwork are due to installed at a later date.
Parish priest Fr Jaime Tocornal said: “It was very necessary that we reopen the doors of our church, which were vandalised so often in the recent past.
“This is a place to meet with God, and to fulfil the most basic of rights, which is the right to practise one’s religion.
“It is a gift to the neighbourhood, and to the whole world, because when we celebrate the Eucharist, that transcends the walls of the church building.
“We are very happy, and therefore we are very grateful to those who stretched out their hand to us when we needed it – and that was Aid to the Church in Need.”
At the inauguration Mass, Cardinal Fernando Chomali, Archbishop of Santiago de Chile, told Mass-goers: “Every time there is death there shall be resurrection, because Jesus Christ rose from the dead, and because good is stronger than evil.”
The cardinal added: “I will be with you until the end of times [means] they can destroy our temples, but they will not destroy the presence of God among us.”