Fire damages Warren’s Blessed Sacrament Church; blaze under investigation

WARREN – A fire impacted part of Blessed Sacrament Church early Sunday.

A passerby saw flames inside the church and alerted the Warren Fire Department at approximately 6.a.m.

Firefighters immediately responded and extinguished the fire before it could spread beyond the ambo (pulpit and platform area).

The ambo area and the liturgical books in that area were completely burned, but the fire did not spread, though the church was affected by extensive smoke.

The fire appears to be accidental in origin and is under investigation.

Sunday morning Masses were canceled and parishioners were invited to attend St. James Church.

The building remains closed at this time while cleanup and restoration work continues.

In a video posted on the Diocese of Youngstown’s Social Media, Rev. Christopher Cicero, pastor of Blessed Sacrament Parish, thanked the Warren Fire Department and the passerby, noting “Thanks be to God, no one was injured.

“There was no significant damage to the building and so this morning, even though it grieves us, we are thankful to God that this could have been so much worse and it wasn’t.”

In the same video, the Most Rev. David J. Bonner said, “Even though the ambo is no longer here, God’s Word lives among us.”

Bishop Bonnar thanked parishioners for their adaptability and encouraged them to be “that voice crying out in the wilderness calling people to prepare the Way for the Lord.

“I know that the faithful at Blessed Sacrament will rise from the ashes because this community is not about bricks and mortar. It’s about a family of believers centered in Jesus Christ.”

To see the video, click here.

This story was originally published December 13, 2021 at 7:53 PM with the headline "Fire damages Warren’s Blessed Sacrament Church; blaze under investigation."