Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1886-11-18
4 cATHoLIC CHURCH BURNED.



PlTrsBuRG, Nov. l3.-The Pro-Cathofral
! of'St. Peters, the pride Of the Roman Cath
ollcs Of the twin cities, is mtr's of
smouldering ruins. A half hour aftet mid
| night Arthur Virgins, a district messenger
boy, while passing the corner of Sherman
avenue and Ohio street. Allegheny City,
saw flames in tho interior Of the massive
structure. The. boy gave the alarm
ind in ten minutes later three dis
tricts OF the ilrH department were
at work. The fire, however, had
made great healway before IL was
discovered and whilethe flremen were light
ing II IN the bast Inent to which It was Ht
first supposed to be confined and haigotten
it undfr control there, flames were lis
covered In the great auditorium overhead
Where they hH1 eaten their way insldiOusy
through tlurs aud veutlldtors and wore
creeping in and out among the raftcrs Just
beneath the vaulted roof, licking up in
their furious greed the beautiful fregeoes
Gnd magnificent oil paintings with which
the walls were lined, and were bursting
through the costly and exquisite stained
glass windows.
Meanwhile great crowd had gathered
and looked ON appalled, while the mag
niflcent structure slowly rumbled before
the relentless progress Of the tiJmes faith
ful ehurchmen, mourning US 1t became APP
parent that their religious refuge was
doomed to destruction, Protestant neigh
bors mourning with them In the loss to the
city OF so costly and magnificent church
edilce. The fire progressed IRON the front
to the back. the roof being consumed and
falling with lis advance.
In the interior furnishings, the paint and
varnishes supplied fuel and the ceiling
beams and the pews hissed and beaconed to
one another ms the progress OF the enntia-
grafton showed that but little, II anything
other than the movable articles would be
saved In the rear of the church Blsnop
Phalau and number Of friends who We're
| early on the ground were buslly engaged
| in saving the gold and silver vessels
II the altar service. The majority OF
them with the chalice and many
| Of the vestments were gotten out, the
| workers being urged on ny the cracking OF
| the Flames, the falling OF timhors and the
neilr approach Jf the fire on the hoor. Even
| then a few efforts were made to again reacD
the altar in nn attempt to save some OF the
many ornaments which had made II one OF
| the most beautiful aud costly In this state,
| but in vain.
The flre absolutely refused TO be governed
by the firemen, who now were delivering
| their streams of water from every available
pojut. including tae roof Of SIMPSONS
Stable, on mn adjoining property,
Steadiiy and without apparent dlmlhll'loh
| OF lis force, II progressed loWhIu tLo iettiS
and The constant flow OF water arose IN
clouds of steam. One squad Of fremen
| with stream, made their way inside OF the
small apartment at the rear and from that
vantage ground tried to save the altar:
| Although from the FIRST tha fercest had
been nj The front of the church, the tower,
having but little inllammahle mnteriai ID
| Its makeup, was almost uniniured.
The edifice Is of stone and cost WI ~
ready for the interior furnishings Sl20, ,0Jc'
The cost OF the finishing and furnishing
added TO the cost of the building almost
$50 900. The frescoing was OF the 1ueHt hs
! indeed was every parttee Of tue furniture,
On tho walls were II oil paintings descrlp-
tive OF the life Of Christ, which were I'M
ported for the church.
Tie organ which was ono ot the nest ~
the two cities, cost $500 and theallar Wil1
It's furnishings, about $5,0O0. The stained
piass windows wore all memorials. In the
altar were a number Of valuable relies rom
Rome and also the archives of the chureni
| which were savad. When the fire, burned
itself out, nothing hut the walls were
standing and over 5l30,0OO had gone up u
the smoke. I,o1
The strong easter!y wind which prevailed
at the time carried the emhers and sparks
in n cloud to tho surrounding Dulldihgs'
but the dampness OF the roofs saved them
The fire was caused by the register heeom-
ing oyerheated from natural gas whlch was
OILY put in the building last Shtnfday'