A raging wildfire in the Pacific Palisades sector of Los Angeles, California (United States), destroyed the Corpus Christi Catholic Church and forced the closure of 65 Catholic schools, archdiocesan officials said.
A shared image by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles shows the church reduced to a steel structure. By announcing the “terrible and sad news of our church” in the website of Corpus Christi, Father Liam Kidney indicated that “the priests are safe with family and friends.”
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The Archbishop of Los Angeles, Bishop José Gomez, urged through social networks to pray and wrote: “Please continue to pray for all those suffering in the wildfires ravaging Southern California. “My heart goes out to our neighbors who have lost their homes and livelihoods.”
In addition to Corpus Christi, there may be about four more parishes that are threatened and are under an evacuation order or warning, wrote Father Andrew Hedstrom, associate pastor of St. Linus Catholic Church in Norwalk, California, in X.
Paul Escala, superintendent of Catholic schools for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, attributed the series of school closures to evacuation orders, power outages, poor air quality and staff displacement. “We are in almost every neighborhood in the three counties,” he told CNA, EWTN News’ English agency.
“Some neighborhoods have been completely devastated, and yet we only have one parish church that has reported catastrophic losses,” he said. Escala identified that location as Corpus Christi, a 1950s church in an affluent neighborhood between Santa Monica and Malibu.
The status of the parochial school remains uncertain. “Buildings, including the library and gym, have been reported to have sustained significant damage,” Escala said. “But we have not verified that the school itself suffered total losses.”
Access is restricted to emergency teams and some media. “It’s too early to tell,” Escala added. “Entry has been restricted by law enforcement and once it is declared safe, we will be able to assess the extent of the damage.”
Escala highlighted that the archdiocese is working to support displaced families. “We focus on our families and our parishioners,” he said. “We will work closely with students’ families and our staff to identify alternative schools if the area is not considered safe for use and/or the buildings are no longer functional.”
Pablo Kay, editor in chief of Angelus, the official media outlet of the archdiocese, said the neighborhood “has been close to being leveled,” according to fire crews and local news reports.
“What we know is that the church burned,” he said. “If anything was saved at the sanctuary, we probably won’t know for several days.” Kay added that reports of damage to a classroom or other parts of the school remain unconfirmed.
Los Angeles Fire Department esteem that the fire spread across almost 64.76 square kilometers and that around 300 structures were destroyed. As of Wednesday afternoon, the Palisades, Eaton and Hurst fires were zero percent contained.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally Posted by CNA.
Maria J. Moriarty
María J. Moriarty is a freelance journalist with more than 10 years of experience in the field. He has a master’s degree in Mass Communication and a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Originally from Mexico City, she began her career in broadcasting before moving into financial journalism, where she has spent the majority of her career.