CCTV helped identify a man who, on Thursday, set fire to the Day Chapel in the Palmerston North Cathedral.
According to the Cathedral Parish Priest, Fr Joseph Grayland, the man was caught on camera lighting the fire.
Grayland says the fire shocked everyone.
The alarm was raised by a man who is in Palmerston North to learn English before training for the priesthood.
He and two others doused the fire and stopped it from spreading further.
Palmerston North Police say a 34-year-old man was arrested on Sunday and charged with arson.
He appeared in the Palmerston North District Court on Monday, May 1, and has interim name suppression.
The man is being remanded in custody and will reappear in court later this month.
Police used social media to distribute the photo of the man identified in the CCTV footage and are grateful to the public for information assisting them in apprehending the offender.
Physical damage to the Cathedral Day Chapel is described as minor.
Only the presider’s chair and a table used in the celebration of Mass were destroyed.
The altar is also damaged at one end, and the carpet in the area is also fire and water-damaged.
“It was out within 15 minutes, but could have been much worse,” said Grayland.
The fire brigade inspector said they were minutes away from losing control.
While the damage is minor, the smoke and ash damage means there is a consequential problem with the air quality in the cathedral, and, on the advice of fire and insurance assessors, the cathedral is closed until it is cleaned and the air inside is deemed safe to breathe.
Grayland said the smoke and ash had gone all the way to the organ at the other end of the church and out into the gathering area.
He says insurance assessors’ have determined that scaffolding is need to clean the church’s interior, and a special machine that sucks air out of the building is required to remove the smell of smoke.
As well as cleaning and repairing the Day Chapel, the smoke damage also means that all the vestments and linen must also be cleaned.
Grayland hopes that once the front of the church was cleaned, weekday services will be held in the Gathering Room.
He says the community is particularly grateful to the quick-thinking man who happened to be in the Cathedral at the time and raised the alarm.
The community also thank him and his two colleagues for dousing a potentially more significant fire.
“It is the fire assessment officer’s view we were minutes away from losing control of the fire and probable loss of the cathedral,” says Grayland.
Talking with CathNews, Grayland says that of the wide range of life events a parish priest helps people with, he never considered dealing with fire as part of ‘the job’.
He says that while disappointed, the fire’s destruction reminded him there is more to being human than being concerned with history and possessions.
“I’m thankful that no one was injured or life lost,” he said.
In the meantime, Sunday masses are being shared between Our Lady of Lourdes and St Mary’s churches, while weekday masses are all taking place at Our Lady of Lourdes Church.
“It is very lucky that we have three city churches that are within a short distance of each other that can people can get to,” says Grayland.
Grayland has high praise for the quick responding Fire and Police services.