Fire destroys one of Chile’s oldest churches
By Pope
Total destruction, a catastrophe for the region.
That’s how witnesses are describing the fire. Two days ago, on Friday 11 October, it consumed the parish of Saint Anthony of Padova and the Franciscan convent, known as the Church of Saint Francis, in the Chilean region of Tarapacá.
One of the oldest Catholic buildings in the country
It was one of the oldest Catholic buildings in all of Chile, mostly made of wood, and dating from the 17th century.
The Church was built at the time of the Spanish conquest and the first arrival of the Franciscan order in the region, and had been recognized as a national monument since 1994.
No casualties
The flames had originated the previous day under the statue of a saint, and were initially contained by the fire brigade.
They then resumed 24 hours later, for unknown reasons. The firefighting units, twelve in total, were unable to prevent the fire from completely consuming the wooden building.
The authorities have opened an investigation and a team of investigators is now working to find evidence of the initial cause of the fire, which, fortunately, caused no casualties.
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