Priests 'moved to tears' by reaction after fire wrecks part of church

Church bosses say they were brought to ‘tears’ after the community rallied together to help following a fire at the place of worship. Emergency services were called to reports of the blaze at St Bernard’s Roman Catholic Church in Burnage on Thursday morning (November 7).

The fire caused damage to a section of the pulpit and a box containing the names of loved ones lost. Sunday’s service was also in jeopardy as it meant that it would have to be held at a local school instead.

Speaking to the M.E.N., Father Luke Bradbury of St Bernard’s, on Burnage Lane, said: “It was on Thursday morning that we noticed the smoke. The fire brigade came, forensics to check in case it was a hate crime or an arson attack.

READ MORE: Man jailed after Manchester Airport officers have a look in his luggage

“It turned out to be a simple accident with the candle. The parishioners were very upset. It was a box with names of loved ones that died that caught fire. They’ve all been burnt but thankfully we take another copy of the names that is stored safely in church.”

As well as the box of names, the fire caused smoke damage and the carpet was destroyed. In desperate need of help to clean up the church and have it prepared for Sunday, Father Luke and local priest, Father Michael Kujackz, decided to use the power of social media.

“We said we’ll put on Facebook and reach out to see if anybody is around,” said Father Luke.

“We reached out because Remembrance Sunday is very important to us, for the fallen and it’s a really important time for people to come together and pray for peace in the world especially."

Father Luke says that between 80 to 100 people including residents, councillors, schools, and local businesses came to the church with cleaning