- A third steamer Cape Girardeau was christened 100 years ago (3/26/24)
- Cape Girardeau christens its namesake (3/19/24)
- The humanist philosophy of Lester Mondale (3/12/24)1
- Cape Osteopathic Hospital opens its doors (3/5/24)
- 8 killed and a million dollars damage done in 1924 tornado (2/27/24)1
- Jackson's militant priest, county recorder at odds over marriage licenses (2/20/24)
- Streaking fad comes to Cape (2/13/24)2
Earlier fire damaged St. Mary's
The brick rectory was built as an addition to the east end of St. Mary's Cathedral in 1957. Recent fire damage was done to the priests' house, when a homeless person, seeking to warm himself in sub-freezing temperatures, accidentally set fire to a basement entryway under the porch. (G.D. Fronabarger ~ Southeast Missourian archive)
The acrid stench of burned wood was heavy in the air, when I entered St. Mary's Cathedral Wednesday night for choir practice. Just days before, fire damaged the rectory attached to the rear of the church.
Luckily, the Cadillac of fire alarms installed when the cathedral was last renovated helped save the lives of the resident priests and prevented more serious damage to the structure. The priests' house was constructed in 1957.
That same year saw the only other serious fire to threaten the 154-year-old brick church. In March of that year it was a child who raised the alarm.
Published March 25, 1957, in the Southeast Missourian:
CATHEDRAL IN CAPE THREATENED BY SERIOUS FIRE
BLAZE AT ST. MARY'S CURBED AFTER ALERT BOY SOUNDS WARNING
A serious fire at St. Mary's Cathedral was narrowly averted early Saturday afternoon when a youngster selling candy nearby saw smoke pouring from the building and sounded an alarm.
Michael Hill, 11, son of Mrs. Mana Hill, 1532 Wayne St., a sixth grade pupil at Junior High Street, ran across the street to the Clark Buick Co., and alerted employees there, who turned in the alarm and dashed to the church to try to put out the flames.
Fireman found curtains on a confessional booth were ablaze. Fire Chief Carl Lewis said the blaze had damaged the confessional, used by the Rev. Robert Schumacher, administrator of Cape Catholic High School.
An acoustical type wallboard was used in the confessional, he said, and this was smoldering and had to be removed. Rubber Mats used on benches also had ignited and asphalt tile on the floor was burned.
Chief Lewis said the combination of burning cloth from the drape, wood, acoustical tile, rubber and asphalt tile sent a dense smoke throughout the sanctuary.
Pews blistered
He said he felt certain that examination of the walls and windows would disclose smoke damage. The tops of several pews near the confessional were also blistered by the heat of the fire.
The confessional was located immediately to the south of the Sprigg Street entrance t the cathedral at the rear of the sanctuary.
Monsignor Marion F. Forst, pastor of the cathedral and vicar general of the Springfield-Cape Girardeau Diocese, said the damage was covered by insurance.
He said adjusters were due here today and until they assess the damage, its extent is not known. He said if the smoke damage is excessive it may be necessary to redecorate the interior of the building, which would be quite expensive.
Evidently no one was in the church at the time of the fire. Chief Lewis said when the Hill child saw the smoke coming from the building, he ran inside first to determine its cause, then went across to the automobile agency.
Employees there turned in the alarm and then took fire extinguishers across in an effort to curtail the blaze until the fire department arrived. They were unable, however, to get the extinguishers to work.
Firemen strung 75 feet of one-inch hose to the cathedral and spent 55 minutes at the scene.
The church was opened following the fire and aired as much as possible. Regular Masses were conducted Sunday. A Mass in observance of the Feast of the Annunciation (The cathedral's feast day. - Sharon) is scheduled for late this afternoon in the cathedral by the Most Rev. Charles H. Helmsing, bishop of the Springfield-Cape Girardeau Diocese.
Chief Lewis said cause of the fire was a mystery. There was no fire near the confessional and no electrical outlet, he said. Monsignor Forst said he, too, was at a loss to explain the cause of the fire.
It was the second church fire in Cape Girardeau in less than two weeks. On March 11 a blaze which began near the furnace of the Maple Avenue Methodist Church did extensive damage to the structure.
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