ROCKFORD—Fire may have damaged St. James Church, but the community of people that make up St. James Parish remains strong. 

 

Parishioners gathered for Masses Aug. 13-14, not in their beloved church but across the parking lot in Beauvais Center, a space named for Father David Beauvais, former pastor of St. James. 

 

The look of Mass may have been different at each of the regularly scheduled Masses at 4 p.m. on Sautrday and at 8:30 and 11:15 a.m. on Sunday, but the spirit and reason for the celebration remained the same … to be with Christ and celebrate Him in the Eucharist.

 

Once utilities were restored and despite some “hot spots” which again brought the Rockford Fire Department to the church on Aug. 9, plans were put in place to celebrate weekend Masses at the parish. Beauvais Center was prepped for the Masses with chairs and assistance from Holy Family Parish which is assisting the parish by providing altar cloths and purificators.

 

Father Jhonatan Sarmiento also shared a written greeting with parishioners from Bishop David Malloy in which he said “faith reminds us that God allows challenges so that we grow in faith, hope and love. “ Bishop Malloy’s message went on to say that “ Even as we celebrate the Mass and sacraments in temporary conditions for the foreseeable future, we ask God to deepen our trust in Him, our generosity and our patience.” 

 

After an early morning fire Aug. 8 caused severe damage to the roof of the historic Rockford church, work began to investigate the cause of the fire and determine the structural integrity and the viability of the church structure along with efforts to restore gas, electricity, phone and internet to the St. James campus.

 

According to a report from investigators to the Rockford Diocese, there were two direct lightning hits recorded at 5:44 a.m. Aug. 8 with one of them being a major hit.  Investigators have not specifically ruled out “contributing” causes, but all indications point to lightning.  

 

Father Sarmiento, members of St. James administration, officials from the City of Rockford and the Rockford Fire Department, Scandroli Construction, insurance officials and forensic engineers from Church Mutual and Gallagher Bassett Insurance Companies and Duraclean Cleaning and Restoration met with diocesan administrators for more than four hours on Aug. 9 to discuss the damage and next steps.

 

The good news is that it was determined that despite the damage from fire and water the church can be repaired. However, due to current labor and material shortages affecting the construction industries, the required work may take as long as two years. A total dollar amount of the required work and damages will be determined once the church is tarped and an inventory of damaged fixtures and contents can be conducted. 

 

Jodi Rippon, Director of Finance and Administrative Services for the Diocese of Rockford told The Observer that much work is taking place and the situation evolves each day, even though to the “casual observer it may seem like not much is happening.”