Two men have been charged after a Catholic Church was gutted by fire in northern Alberta.
On May 22, the RCMP was called to help with a fire in St. Bernard Catholic Church in Grouard, which is about 360 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.
The church was built in 1902 and is a provincial historic site.
Police say the fire appeared suspicious, and the RCMP put out a media release asking the public for information.
On May 23, the Mounties announced they had charged two men.
Police say 56-year-old Kenneth Ferguson of High Prairie is charged with arson, and break and enter to commit theft. Gerald Capot, 50, of High Prairie also faces charges of arson, and break and enter to commit theft.
Both men have been placed in custody and are due in court on May 29 in High Prairie. Police say no one was hurt in the fire.
The parish priest who served at St. Bernard said it’s a tremendous blow for the whole community.
“This church has been here for 121 years,” Bernard Akum said in an interview. “So you can imagine how it has served the community, sacraments, baptisms, weddings, confirmations, funerals … so the church was like a memorial, an edifice of remembrance of the ancestors.”
The incident occurred as this month marks the two-year anniversary of Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nations saying ground-penetrating radar had found burial sites of 215 children at the Kamloops Indian Residential School. Shortly after, a series of churches were damaged or destroyed by arson across Alberta, B.C., Saskatchewan, and Ontario.
‘Hard on the Community’
Akum said parishioners have been stopping in to see him, and some are struggling.“Very hurt, very angry … it’s very very hard on the community.”
The walls of the historic church are still standing, said Akum, but that’s about it.
“Everything inside is gone—just charcoal, black,” he said, “except a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary that is still standing, and the altar table.”
Even the walls, he said, could likely be knocked over by a strong breeze.
Fire crews spent hours fighting the blaze but could not save the church. Akum said at one point they ran out of water in Grouard.
He said they saved what they could, including some vestments and books.
Akum said he is not sure what the motive might be for starting the fire.
He said the Roman Catholic Church did operate a residential school in Grouard, and last year it was said that ground-penetrating radar found 169 potential unmarked grave sites.
Akum said he has been part of many meetings on truth and reconciliation with indigenous people in the region and said while news of potential unmarked graves led to hurt and anger, the church is also very important to people in the area.
“I don’t think I can connect it with what happened to our church. Knowing how important people tell me this church is … for them,” he said.
He’s hoping the two men charged will be able to shed more light on what happened, and why.
“Everything is just left for … those who did it to tell us why they did it,” he said.
So far, none of the locations said to be unmarked grave sites have been excavated to look for remains.
The Epoch Times found some cases remain officially open, while others have closed but could reopen if new evidence comes to light.
