LORAIN, Ohio — Ten months after investigators say an intentionally set fire caused more than $1.2 million in damage, a Lorain Catholic church and school is rebounding.
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St. Anthony of Padua Parish and School is reopening its social hall and gymnasium as it celebrates a significant milestone.
In 1922, 150 east Lorain neighbors petitioned the Diocese of Cleveland for their own Catholic church on the city’s east side. The following year, the petitioners and others celebrated their new church’s first mass inside a dance hall at Century Park. Days later, a mysterious fire burned the building to the ground.
Just as their founders did a century earlier, parishioners at St. Anthony of Padua were faced with rebuilding in 2022.
On July 30, a fire started in an outdoor storage area between the school and the building housing its social hall and gymnasium. Investigators found an accelerant at the scene and ruled it an arson.
“Setting fire to a Catholic school is very crazy to me. I don’t know why it would run through someone’s mind, but obviously, it did,” said Taya Szabados, a high school senior who attended the Catholic school from preschool through 7th grade.
The fire left significant damage in its wake. Its heat melted siding and a storage shed and filled much of the building with smoke.
“A lot of equipment, everything, smelled of smoke. So a lot of things are just being gutted and thrown out - equipment and appliances – and then having to go through that process of having to reacquire everything we lost,” said Pastor Rev. Edward Smith.
In late April, the church celebrated both the reopening of the fire-damaged facilities and its 100th anniversary. Several parishioners assembled photos, documents, and other mementos from parish archives and personal collections. They’re displayed throughout the church sanctuary and in a side room.
“The priests come and go, but the people are the backbone of the parish,” Smith said.
He noted the parish community has not only weathered several suspicious fires but also Lorain’s adjustment through industry growth and decline. The pastor hopes St. Anthony’s next century will include more progress.
“I would hope that Lorain would see a rebirth and we would have a lot more young families back in the area, increase in business and great opportunities for employment,” said Smith.
According to the State Fire Marshal’s office, there have been no tips or arrests in the arson case. It’s currently under investigation with a $5,000 reward available for information.
