Diocese assessing damage at St. Joseph’s in Lyndonville
Bishop will meet Sunday with parishioners from church after Mass at St. Mary’s
Photos by Tom Rivers: Firefighters check the back end of the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Lyndonville after a destructive fire on Tuesday. Firefighters were dispatched to the scene at 3:41 a.m. This photo was taken at about 7:45 a.m.
LYNDONVILLE – The Diocese of Buffalo hasn’t made a decision about the next steps with the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church after a destructive fire Tuesday at the building on 36 Lake Ave.
“We are assessing the damage which is quite extensive,” said Joe Martone, communication manager for the Diocese. “It will be fairly substantial.”
The fire on Tuesday destroyed much of the back of the church and also left the inside covered in soot, peeling paint and wallpaper, fallen insulation and many melted and destroyed items.
Bishop Michael Fisher will be at St. Mary’s in Medina for the 11 a.m. Mass on Sunday and will meet with parishioners from St. Joseph’s after the service.
“It’s devastating to the parish,” Martone said about the fire. “It’s an outreach we wanted to do to show our support to the people in Orleans County. All our churches are important to us in the Diocese.”
The sanctuary of the church used to be white but now is gray and black from the smoke and soot. Wet insulation that fell from the ceiling is on the pews.
