Home / News & Publications / Michigan Catholic News / 2009 / Fire burns hole in seminary chapel ceiling
Fire burns hole in seminary chapel ceiling
Article by Joe Kohn of The Michigan Catholic
Published online February 13, 2009
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Joe Kohn | The Michigan Catholic
Archbishop Allen Vigneron (second from left) surveys the damage with (from left) dean of studies Fr. Todd Lajiness, the archbishop's secretary Msgr. John Kasza, and director of undergraduate seminarians Fr. Mark Hamilton |
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Joe Kohn | The Michigan Catholic
The hole in the chapel's ceiling is a few feet wide. |
Detroit -- A fire Thursday night, Feb. 12, burned a hole in the ceiling of the main chapel at Sacred Heart Major Seminary, also causing damage to several pews, the floor, and smoke damage to other pews and the chapel walls.
Seminary rector Msgr. Jeffrey Monforton on Friday morning said the fire apparently was electrical and caused by a light fixture. An assessment of the damage was being conducted, he said, and repairing the damage "is going to entail serious costs."
The hole in the ceiling doesn't expose the chapel to daylight -- the roof is intact above the ceiling -- but pieces from the ceiling fell onto some pews, burning them, and damaged the original floor of the chapel, which was built in the 1920s.
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Joe Kohn | The Michigan Catholic
The fire burned a hole over the rear of the chapel's nave, on the right hand side when facing the altar. |
On Friday morning, as Archbishop Allen Vigneron was talking with seminary staff and surveying the damage, the chapel's tabernacle had been emptied and the hymnals were stacked near a side altar.
As bad as the damage was, Msgr. Monforton said it could have been much worse. Seminarians were in the chapel at the time of the fire for Eucharistic Adoration. No smoke or fire detectors went off when the fire started shortly before midnight, but the seminarians and staff were quick to notice and respond.
"I give all credit to Divine Providence that we had men in the chapel at that time," said Msgr. Monforton.
"The fire alarm last evening was human, not mechanical," he added. "It's a great disappointment, yet at the same time I'm very proud of the men and how they responded."
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Joe Kohn | The Michigan Catholic
Hymnals, some soaked, were stacked near a side altar of the chapel. |
Because of the fast response, fire fighters were able to extinguish the blaze before it spread. Some of the water also leaked through the floor into the Cardinal Edmund Szoka Library, situated under the seminary's chapel -- but the seminarians and staff salvaged the books there before significant damage was done.
Both Msgr. Monforton and Archbishop Vigneron expressed their relief that no one was hurt, and their appreciation for the response of those at the seminary.
Msgr. Monforton said he doesn't yet know how much the damage will cost to repair, or how long it will take. He's hopeful that insurance will help cover the damage. The seminary is owned by the Archdiocese of Detroit.
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Joe Kohn | The Michigan Catholic
A plastic tarp stretched over the pews holds a small puddle of water, which dripped from the hole in the ceiling. |
As the main chapel is repaired, Msgr. Monforton said the seminarians will be able to use the building's two smaller chapels for their liturgies. Having talked to his faculty, staff and students Friday morning, he said everyone was handling the situation "extraordinarily well."
"The morale of the people seems to be quite steady and upbeat," he said, "especially since we're aware it could have been a lot worse."
Because the damage was limited to the chapel and library, classes scheduled at the seminary were unaffected by the fire.
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