A Terrible Loss (8 photos)

[Maz]

Hello everyone,

Yesterday, June 29, 2005 was a sad day for the parishioners of the small village of Sainte-Anne de Kent, New Brunswick, Canada. The beautiful historical Roman Catholic wooden church was hit by a bolt of lighting at around 3:15 pm. Built in 1888 and often called the called the Sistine Chapel of Acadia, it was filled with Acadian historical paintings and objects.

This is a rural village with no fire hydrants and water had to be hauled out of a nearby creek. There was a slight breeze and the firefighter had no chance to save it. Old people cried. With the effort of some people a few objects were saved from the rear chapel.
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http://www.homesteadsforsale.com/fire1.jpg
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http://www.homesteadsforsale.com/fire2.jpg
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http://www.homesteadsforsale.com/fire3.jpg
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http://www.homesteadsforsale.com/fire4.jpg
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http://www.homesteadsforsale.com/fire5.jpg
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http://www.homesteadsforsale.com/fire6.jpg
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http://www.homesteadsforsale.com/fire7.jpg
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http://www.homesteadsforsale.com/fire8.jpg
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The sign in the last photo reads Mass at 7 pm Saturday and 9 am Sunday. This will not be the case this weekend. A sad day indeed.

Thank You
Maz (Digital Rebel)
http://www.homesteadsforsale.com

[weemannie]

That's terribly sad. What a waste of such a beautiful building :(

[BottomBracket]

What a tragedy! I'm glad no one was hurt and that a few items were saved. Good thing you were able to take pictures, those images are part of the town's historical documentation now.

[CyberDyneSystems]

:(

[Belmondo]

I hope they put it back together just the way it was. It was a beautiful, old church. Very sad.

[Rob612]

:( :(

[bikerider]

A tragedy well documented Maz.

[O/confusion]

It's a real blow when something like this happens to a building of this age, especially in a country whose architectural heritage is still, by "old world" standards, relatively thin. A similar fate befell a lovely wooden church of about the same vintage in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, some three years ago; that fire, however, was apparently the result of juvenile idiots being irresponsible at Halloween. If I remember correctly, a prank went bad and the fire caught hold in the roof, after which the whole thing went up like matchwood. The photographs were awful to see, especially since I had only just visited the spot a couple of months earlier, and had taken some shots of the building myself at that time.

The good news is that thanks to a well-supported fund-raising effort, and the work of the local Historical Society, the church has now been restored to near pristine condition.

regards,
Terry

[Mills]

Very Sad.

[KirkM]

That's too bad. Looks like it took the fire department a long time to respond!!

Kirk

[ImperialRed]

With all due respect to the church and community............


Some of those photos were you can see how engulfed the building is in flames looks magnificent!

[DwightMcCann]

Absolutely rips my heart out ... this is a major cultural loss and insult to the soul of the community. Were I religious I would wonder at, but not question, the higher purpose being served.

[Michaelmjc]

Wow thats soo bad, what are the chances you had your camera though!

Everyone makes fun of me for carrying it wherever I go, its for times like these.

[Maz]

Thanks to all of you for your comments and sense of care. It was a challenge to get correct exposures with a bright and high mid day sun as well as the smoke and ashes from the burning building.

Thanks again,

Maz (Digital Rebel)

[GyRob]

Such a shame and a sad loss , your photos capture it very well .
Rob

[felix21685]

wow at least you had your camera there and they saved quite a few objects from inside

[Larry_NB]

Good shots of a sad happening. I wondered if you might have been nearby.
Larry, Moncton NB

[R1 Kid]

Turely sad on the historical side. But even more historical is the history of God rebuilding what has been taken away, but to be even greater than before. Thank you for sharing with us this moment of historical sadness.