Chapter 10 Team Ministry

On Thursday, September 24, 1976, three youths who live around the church were playing in the church yard when they noticed smoke coming from the building.  They ran to the home of Mrs. Celia Abbiuso at the corner of Winter Street who telephoned the Milford Fire Department.  Fortunately, this call was placed before the detectors in the church were activated to notify anyone of the danger. For the second time in two decades, fire had caused significant damage to Saint Mary’s Church.  The last one had been in 1956 with a fire that started in the lower church near the confessionals.  In the article following this incident, Fr. Bowen identified that fire (in 1956) as having been caused by faulty electrical wires between the floors.

The damage was on the south side of the nave, under the window bay between the third and fourth Stations of the Cross.  Damage was extensive, estimated by initially at $8,000, and engaged both the upper and lower churches. Fortunately for the parish, the youth in the neighborhood’s quick response with Mrs. Abbiuso prevented more expensive or permanent damage to the church and the priceless window of the Annunciation. To this day, the lower portion of the valuable painting of the third Station of the Cross still has evidence of the incident.

While arson was suspected in this case as initially for the one in 1956, Fire Chief John DePaolo quickly ruled that out. During the day, workmen had been installing protective glass over the Mayer Munich windows in the upper church. To install this glass, they used a welding torch. They had worked until 3:30 pm, and the fire was noticed at 4 pm. It is surmised that the torch ignited a fire in the wood framing of the stained-glass window that was unseen and undetected before the workmen left for the day.  As a protocol, usually a contractor will set a fire watch for a period of time after the work is completed for a day to assure that this kind of incident does not take place. 

The damage was on the south side of the nave, under the window bay between the third and fourth Stations of the Cross.  Damage was extensive, estimated by initially at $8,000, and engaged both the upper and lower churches. Fortunately for the parish, the youth in the neighborhood’s quick response with Mrs. Abbiuso prevented more expensive or permanent damage to the church and the priceless window of the Annunciation. To this day, the lower portion of the valuable painting of the third Station of the Cross still has evidence of the incident.

On Thursday, September 24, 1976, three youths who live around the church were playing in the church yard when they noticed smoke coming from the building.  They ran to the home of Mrs. Celia Abbiuso at the corner of Winter Street who telephoned the Milford Fire Department.  Fortunately, this call was placed before the detectors in the church were activated to notify anyone of the danger. For the second time in two decades, fire had caused significant damage to Saint Mary’s Church.  The last one had been in 1956 with a fire that started in the lower church near the confessionals.  In the article following this incident, Fr. Bowen identified that fire (in 1956) as having been caused by faulty electrical wires between the floors.

While arson was suspected in this case as initially for the one in 1956, Fire Chief John DePaolo quickly ruled that out. During the day, workmen had been installing protective glass over the Mayer Munich windows in the upper church. To install this glass, they used a welding torch. They had worked until 3:30 pm, and the fire was noticed at 4 pm. It is surmised that the torch ignited a fire in the wood framing of the stained-glass window that was unseen and undetected before the workmen left for the day.  As a protocol, usually a contractor will set a fire watch for a period of time after the work is completed for a day to assure that this kind of incident does not take place. 

The damage was on the south side of the nave, under the window bay between the third and fourth Stations of the Cross.  Damage was extensive, estimated by initially at $8,000, and engaged both the upper and lower churches. Fortunately for the parish, the youth in the neighborhood’s quick response with Mrs. Abbiuso prevented more expensive or permanent damage to the church and the priceless window of the Annunciation. To this day, the lower portion of the valuable painting of the third Station of the Cross still has evidence of the incident.
 

On Thursday, September 24, 1976, three youths who live around the church were playing in the church yard when they noticed smoke coming from the building.  They ran to the home of Mrs. Celia Abbiuso at the corner of Winter Street who telephoned the Milford Fire Department.  Fortunately, this call was placed before the detectors in the church were activated to notify anyone of the danger. For the second time in two decades, fire had caused significant damage to Saint Mary’s Church.  The last one had been in 1956 with a fire that started in the lower church near the confessionals.  In the article following this incident, Fr. Bowen identified that fire (in 1956) as having been caused by faulty electrical wires between the floors.

While arson was suspected in this case as initially for the one in 1956, Fire Chief John DePaolo quickly ruled that out. During the day, workmen had been installing protective glass over the Mayer Munich windows in the upper church. To install this glass, they used a welding torch. They had worked until 3:30 pm, and the fire was noticed at 4 pm. It is surmised that the torch ignited a fire in the wood framing of the stained-glass window that was unseen and undetected before the workmen left for the day.  As a protocol, usually a contractor will set a fire watch for a period of time after the work is completed for a day to assure that this kind of incident does not take place.