Unrelated fires damage historic church, convent

Top photo: Worshipers kneel in front of cordoned off pews during a Feb. 28 Mass at St. John the Evangelist Church in Indianapolis celebrated by Father Rick Nagel, pastor of the parish. In the early morning hours of Feb. 27, a fire believed to be arson was set at the historic church. The cordoned off pews had not yet been cleaned of smoke damage that affected the entire structure. (Photo by Sean Gallagher); Bottom photo: The Indianapolis Fire Department responded to a fire at the convent of St. Bernadette Church in Indianapolis on Feb. 28. The fire is believed to have been accidentally started from a burning candle. Firefighters had the fire under control within 30 minutes. (Submitted photo)

By Sean Gallagher and Natalie Hoefer

While members of two Indianapolis parish communities were devastated by recent unrelated fires at a church and a convent, they also kept their focus on their faith in God and counted their blessings that no one was injured.

An arson investigation is being conducted into a fire that caused extensive smoke damage to St. John the Evangelist Church in Indianapolis in the early morning hours of Feb. 27.

A day later, a fire believed to have been accidentally started from a burning candle caused significant damage to a convent at St. Bernadette Parish in Indianapolis. The six sisters who lived in the convent have found new temporary homes.

Early on the morning of Feb. 27, Father Rick Nagel, pastor of St. John the Evangelist Parish, was awakened by his parish’s fire alarm while he slept in its rectory.

Within minutes, he accompanied a fireman from the Indianapolis Fire Department as they went to check the parish’s historic church.

“As soon as I opened the door [to the sanctuary] and we walked in, I saw that the smoke was clear up to the ceiling and you could see the fire in the back,” said Father Nagel. “My stomach dropped out of me.”

Firefighters found a flag, hymnals and Lenten booklets burning in the back of the church.

Indianapolis arson investigators have determined that the fire was intentionally set. They also estimate the damage at as much as $400,000, but Eric Atkins, archdiocesan director of management services, said there is no official damage estimate yet. Atkins also said the archdiocese is continuing to review the extent of the damage and is seeking bids on restoration work.

The parish’s regular 12:10 p.m. Mass on Feb. 27 was cancelled while the crime was investigated and preliminary cleanup work was done. No arrests had been made by time of publication.

While the smell of smoke pervaded the church, worshippers packed into the front pews on Feb. 28 for daily Mass. The majority of the benches that had not yet been cleaned were cordoned off.

“This is one way to get everybody to sit up front,” said Father Nagel with a laugh at the start of the Mass.

During his homily, however, Father Nagel became serious—and a little emotional—as he reflected on how the fire was a bittersweet moment for the parish, which is celebrating the 175th anniversary of its founding.

“It’s a sweet moment because we acknowledge that, in the midst of the evil that has happened, there’s a great goodness in the hundreds of e-mails that have already poured in,” said Father Nagel. “People want to help. People have been here to help. God touches our hearts. We know that he is present.”

Later in his homily, Father Nagel reminded worshippers that every person is created good by God, even if some, like the person who set fire to the church, may have departed from God and their original goodness.

“Our job is to help them come back to that goodness,” Father Nagel said. “Our job is to invite whoever has fallen, whoever is away from God, whoever is distant from him, back to [a] personal relationship with their Savior, Jesus, through his holy Church.

“… I encourage us to allow God to heal anything that’s broken, so that we can move to forgiveness.”

Jenny Lutgring, 25, attended the Feb. 28 Mass. She frequently participates in young adult events at St. John.

“I was really sad,” said Lutgring of learning about the fire. “But, at the same time, as Father Nagel said, it’s an opportunity for me and all of us to grow in virtue, patience, generosity, to practice forgiveness [and learn] to trust and accept sad events like this with joy.”

She also thinks the parish will bounce back quickly from this setback.

“I think we’ll be even stronger than before,” she said.

The first Mass after the fire also saw the return of people with longstanding connections to the parish.

Alexa Spragg-O’Neil graduated in 1949 from the eighth grade in a school previously operated by St. John. Now a member of St. Luke the Evangelist Parish in Indianapolis, she was shocked when she saw televised news reports of the fire.

“I was devastated because I could see [the smoke] on television through those beautiful doors,” said Spragg-O’Neil, 77, who recalled cleaning the pews of the church as a child—the same ones that now require cleaning due to smoke damage.

Joe Maguire, 57, is a member of St. John who works nearby as a lawyer. His mother went to high school there, and his son was married in the church.

He thinks the fire will ultimately have a positive effect on the parish.

“It shows the strength of the parish, the strength of Christ and the strength of our Church,” Maguire said. “It will make it stronger and just as beautiful. We’ll grow and learn from this incident.”

That same attitude marked the response of the six sisters who lived in the convent at St. Bernadette Parish.

“There are so many, many blessings [in this],” said Daughter of Mary Mother of Mercy Sister Loretto Emenogu, a resident of the convent who is the mission educator in the archdiocesan Mission Office at the Archbishop Edward T. O’Meara Catholic Center in Indianapolis. “Everyone survived, it happened in the day instead of the night and Sister Augustina [Ekwebelm] was able to save the most important thing—the Most Blessed Sacrament.”

None of the sisters, who are members of the same order, was hurt, although Sister Augustina was transported to St. Francis Hospital in Indianapolis for smoke inhalation. She was treated and released.

The fire is believed to have been accidentally started from a burning candle. Firefighters had the fire under control within 30 minutes.

“The damage is significant, but the convent can be repaired,” said Tom Bogenschutz, pastoral associate at St. Bernadette Parish.

Bogenschutz said that one bedroom was destroyed, one hall sustained severe heat damage, and the downstairs suffered water damage. The structure, built in 1952, will also need to be brought up to electrical code and need asbestos abatement. There is no estimate on remediation cost or completion yet.

Two of the sisters are staying with their fellow Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy sisters at the convent at Holy Trinity Parish in Indianapolis, and four are being housed by the Sisters of St. Benedict at the Benedict Inn in Beech Grove.

The Daughters of Mary Mother of Mercy were invited to the Archdiocese of Indianapolis in 2004 by then-Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein. They have used the convent at St. Bernadette for several years, as well as expanding into other convents in the Indianapolis area.

The sisters work in various ministries and organizations in Indianapolis.

“We view this from the positive, not the negative,” said Sister Loretto. “God is so good.”†