One Year Later: Saint Anthony of Padua looks toward the future

By New Outlook
 
Saturday, October 18, marks one year since Saint Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Casa Grande was destroyed in an overnight fire. The flames significantly damaged the interior of the church.  
 
Months after the fire, structural engineers and others conducted a professional assessment of the entire building. The report determined that the smoke damage was so severe that restoring the church to its original state would be more expensive than building a new one. Insurance carriers of the diocese and the parish agreed to the recommendation. In June Bishop Gerald Kicanas, the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Tucson, issued a decree formally calling for the church to be demolished.  
This summer, it took a construction crew less than a week to raze the building that had stood since 1960, though the original church complex was constructed more than 100 years ago. Father Ariel Lustan, the pastor, said liturgical services have not been interrupted thanks in part to the parish’s large community center and Divine Mercy Chapel. In the weeks following the fire, the Casa Grande Police Department released a surveillance video of an individual authorities say might be responsible for setting the church on fire. To date, no arrests have been made. Casa Grande Police say the investigation is open and remains ongoing.  

This past year more than $514,000 have been donated to help rebuild the only Catholic church in the city of Casa Grande, “We are patiently going through a long and tedious process. The settlement account with the insurance is very crucial in determining our construction goal,” Father Lustan said. Though no timeline has been set for building a new church the longtime priest in Pinal County remains hopeful, “I’m happy that our parishioners are patient in embracing the complexity of the project.”
 
Lustan described the Catholic community as faithful and giving him hope as they face the enormous task of rebuilding a church, “I cannot wait to see in the horizon when a shovel would crack the ground to signal the coming of a new era for Saint Anthonys.” If you are interested in donating, you can visit https://giving.parishsoft.com/App/Giving/PS-1474