Story perspectives

St. Joseph Church Reopens After Arson Fire

8/28/2026

Summary

St. Joseph Reopens

St. Joseph Catholic Church in Salem reopened three years after an arson fire.
Father Jeff Meeuwsen said the parish held masses and sacraments while displaced.
Principal Aaron Terpening added a 33-foot arched ceiling with 23-karat gold-leaf stars.
In Canada, Gilles Mallet was charged with arson for the Aug. 24 blaze that destroyed the 108-year-old Saint-Simon Church.
Bishop Michel Proulx called the loss of the wooden church an immeasurable tragedy for the community.

Summary

Starr Condemns Arson

Councilor Richard A. Starr condemned the arson and urged leaders to protect the historic African-American neighborhood.
Police and fire officials linked the blaze to a social-media “Urban Mining” trend captured by a real-time crime camera.
City officials cited the vacant-building ordinance as a tool to secure or demolish unsafe structures.
Residents placed flowers and handwritten notes at the rubble, grieving the “irreplaceable” landmark.

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St. Joseph Reopens

St. Joseph Catholic Church in Salem reopened three years after an arson fire.
Father Jeff Meeuwsen said the parish held masses and sacraments while displaced.
Principal Aaron Terpening added a 33-foot arched ceiling with 23-karat gold-leaf stars.
In Canada, Gilles Mallet was charged with arson for the Aug. 24 blaze that destroyed the 108-year-old Saint-Simon Church.
Bishop Michel Proulx called the loss of the wooden church an immeasurable tragedy for the community.

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