Hope rises from ashes for St. Rita parishioners

DUNDALK – Not long after Baltimore County firefighters extinguished a two-alarm blaze at St. Rita Church in Dundalk July 1, Father Kevin Mueller carefully ascended the staircase to a soot-covered choir loft.

Looking around what had been used as a storage area, the pastor surveyed burned Christmas decorations and other damaged items – his eye drawn especially to a head that was poking out from the rubble.

He reached into the debris and gently pulled out a scorched statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary that had been part of one of the parish nativity scenes.

“I brought it out, but I didn’t clean it,” he told parishioners during a July 2 Mass at Our Lady of Hope in Dundalk that was offered in support of St. Rita congregants. “I wanted to leave it as it was … just a ‘coming up out of the ashes’ sort of a thing.”

The small figure of Mary, splotched with black grime – her arms crossed in adoration of an unseen newborn Christ child – stood at the front of the congregation during the special Mass inside the hall of Our Lady of Hope-St. Luke School. 

The figure stood as a sign of hope and resilience for a community shaken and uncertain about the future. Other items recovered from the church, including an image of St. Rita and a church door handle firefighters had sawed off to gain access to the building, were also on display.

The church sustained significant damage from fire, smoke and water, especially in the reconciliation room, vestibule, downstairs restroom and the stairwell leading to the bell tower. 

“Water, of course, was everywhere,” Father Mueller told parishioners, “but the one thing that’s definitely all over that church is soot. If you go in there and you touch a pew, you’re going to have soot all over your hands. The ceiling is black.”

The pastor noted that the upper part of the building sustained the most damage. The Stations of the Cross, lower in the church, were not affected, he said. 

“So, it’s half-and-half,” he said. 

The fire was caused by a lightning strike during an afternoon storm that passed through Dundalk, according to Tom Alban, director of risk management for the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The lightning affected the electronics on the church’s bell system, which then overheated and caused the fire, he said. 

Alban noted that parts of a vinyl-like coating that had been applied to the ceiling fell off during the fire and that there was some structural damage to the bell tower. He estimated that the total damages are more than $750,000.

“Repairs of this magnitude typically take 60 to 90 days,” Alban said, noting that the building was insured.

The fire comes at a time of transition for St. Rita, which recently became part of Our Lady of Hope parish under the archdiocese’s Seek the City to Come pastoral planning initiative. That process joined Our Lady of Hope with St. Rita, St. Luke in Edgemere and Sacred Heart of Mary in Graceland Park. 

The combined community is based at Our Lady of Hope, where one Saturday vigil Mass is offered along with two Sunday liturgies. St. Rita had been offering one Sunday morning Mass that regularly attracted 200 worshippers. 

Following the fire, the St. Rita Sunday Mass is being moved to Our Lady of Hope, where liturgies are currently held in the school hall due to non-functional air conditioning in the main church.

Father Mueller and Alban said it will be up to archdiocesan leaders to determine the future of St. Rita’s building.

In his homily, the pastor urged the community to stay united. 

“Our church is not just that building,” he said. “It’s more than that.”

He recalled a similar crisis from some 10 years ago when he was pastor of Our Lady Queen of Peace in Middle River. Parts of the plaster of the ceiling fell down during a Christmas Eve Mass, ultimately forcing closure of the building for more than a year as liturgies were moved to a school cafeteria, he said. 

“What the community did is they stuck together,” he said. “That’s what I’m challenging us to do.”

He linked their current trial to the evening’s Gospel reading, the story of 10 lepers healed by Jesus – only one of whom returned to give thanks.

“Don’t be like the nine that didn’t show up,” he said. “They weren’t thankful. Be like the one that came back. Let’s be thankful for that. We need to also be thankful for us because that fire didn’t stop us.”

Peggy Schaffer, a longtime parishioner and leader at St. Rita, described her heartbreak after the fire, saying she was “beside (herself)” until she could see the damage for herself. Despite the sorrow, she expressed gratitude for the community Mass that attracted approximately 75 and for outside support that has included prayers from parishioners of the National Shrine of St Rita of Cascia in Philadelphia.

“God does use all things for good,” she said.

After going through the Seek the City process and then experiencing the fire, it’s been a difficult time for the community, according to Deacon Helgi Nelson Sr.

“It made such a big impact just to have that church in that old historic Dundalk area,” he said. “It’s the anchor of that community. Now we’ve got hope that it may rise from the flames. This community here is so strong that they want to let everyone know that they are supporting that parish, that church – and that’s why they’re here today.”

Email George Matysek at gmatysek@CatholicReview.org

Also see: Two-alarm fire damages St. Rita Church 

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