Historic Baltimore County church damaged in fire, prompting investigation
Investigation underway into fire at church in Dundalk that may have been causes by lighting
Investigation underway into fire at church in Dundalk that may have been causes by lighting
A historic church in Baltimore County was damaged in a fire Tuesday, according to fire department officials.
Crews responded to St. Rita's Church in the 2900 block of Dunleer Road in Dundalk around 2:45 p.m. Once on the scene, officials said heavy fire was coming from the building.
The fire was under control by 3:40 p.m., and no injuries were reported, according to Baltimore County Fire Chief Joe Dixon. Though one firefighter was treated on scene for heat exhaustion.
Lightning reported near church fire
The fire at St. Rita's Church caused damage to the steeple of the historic building.
Witnesses told WJZ that the fire may have been caused by lightning; however, Chief Dixon said that could not be confirmed.
"Of course, it could have been a lightning strike, but that is something that we cannot confirm. There is reports of lightning, we've seen lightning in the area, but we would never say that's what it was without an investigation," Dixon said.
St. Rita's Church thanks community
In a social media post, St. Rita's thanked the fire department and the local community for the quick response.
Yonatan Mendoza, a witness who called 911, told WJZ that he saw the fire after leaving the mosque located across the street from the church.
"We are so appreciative of the many thoughts and prayers from our parishioners, the local community, fellow Catholics throughout the Archdiocese of Baltimore, the National Shrine of Saint Rita of Cascia, and our neighbors from the Masjid Quba, who also contacted us to alert us to the fire," church leaders said.
St. Rita's was established in 1922, according to the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
The Catholic church was one of several that were part of a consolidation plan in December. The archdiocese's "Seek the City to Come" plan consolidated 61 parishes into 30 worship sites.
St. Rita's Merged with Our Lady of Hope, St. Luke and Sacred Heart of Mary, though the St. Rita's Church building still serves as an additional worship site.
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Chicago Tribune
a day ago
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Strain the cooked vegetable broth and add it to the mushroom broth. Finely chop the drained mushrooms and add them to the soup. Season the soup with more salt and pepper to taste, add additional butter and parsley as desired. Serve with lazanki (a cabbage and noodles mix) or pasta.
New York Post
a day ago
- New York Post
English church wants to exhume skull of Tudor saint decapitated by Henry VIII
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Miami Herald
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A rabbi and a reverend walk into a South Florida retirement home and begin talking about topics long forbidden from most family dinner tables: God, religion and politics. Yes, it sounds like an age-old joke setup but it's actually the premise for a new conversation series held at a South Florida retirement community, Vi at Aventura, led by residents Minister Priscilla Felisky Whitehead and Rabbi Ralph Kingsley. Both have deep roots in South Florida's faith community, and they happen to be longtime friends. 'The whole point of this was to demonstrate that people who call themselves religious, albeit in totally different ways, can come out in the same place and have a sense of commonality between us,' said Kingsley, who served as the rabbi of Temple Sinai in North Dade for 31 years. 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Veronica Fuchs spoke about a traumatic experience she had with her son and the Catholic church. After her son passed away, she went to therapy seeking help and answers. 'I told her everything that had happened to our son by a priest and this and that, and she said, So what are you going to do about it? I said, I don't know. I'm very angry. I'm very angry, and now that our son is gone, I'm even angrier, because it never got settled,' she said. The therapist suggested, 'How about you forgive them.' The conversation at times turned political and topical. Some residents pointed out that many global conflicts have revolved around religion in one way or another. Arnie Drill raised a similar point, questioning how religions can overcome the idea that there is one true belief system. 'Do we reach a point .. where it gets to the extreme point that it now becomes a negative in our society?' he asked. Kingsley said this is the million dollar question about religion. 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