Easter Sunday, a day synonymous with rebirth and renewal, took an unexpected turn for the parishioners of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii in Bushwick, Brooklyn. As families gathered to celebrate the 1 p.m. Easter mass in Spanish, a fire erupted, disrupting the solemnity of the occasion and testing the resilience of a century-old community.
The blaze, which is still under investigation, began in the rectory section of the church, a space typically used for classrooms and office activities. Despite the destruction of this area, the main worship space was spared significant damage, thanks to the quick response of firefighters who fought to contain the flames.
Fr. Romulo Marin, who was leading the service, noticed smoke seeping into the sanctuary and acted swiftly to evacuate nearly 200 parishioners. His attempt to douse the fire with an extinguisher was thwarted as the second floor began to crumble beneath the heat. ‘And the floor collapsed,’ Fr. Marin recounted, a moment that signaled the urgency to flee the building.
The New York Fire Department faced their own challenges as the fire escalated to five alarms. One firefighter narrowly escaped injury after falling through a hole in the collapsing second floor. Assistant Chief Michael Myers recounted the incident, ‘He didn’t realize that the mayday was for him, so he bounced up off the floor, came in and wanted to run back up the stairs to address the mayday issue. But not realizing that the mayday was himself, he was unhurt, thank God, and he was able to continue to fight the fire.’
The congregation, some of whom have been part of the church’s history for generations, were left heartbroken yet grateful for the firefighters’ efforts. John Quaglione of the Brooklyn Diocese expressed the communal sentiment, ‘It’s one of the churches around for a long time – the history that develops among people individually. So this is hurting everybody that worships here.’
In a poignant reflection of the day’s theme of resurrection, Fr. Marin shared his belief that ‘sometimes God destroys the old to make way for the new.’ His hope is for the church to emerge stronger from the ashes. The FDNY’s wise decision to keep the door closed between the main worship space and the fire helped preserve the church, a fact Myers attributed to divine intervention, ‘And I think that’s God looking down on us today, on Easter Sunday, and saving at least that part of the building.’
Thankfully, all injuries were minor, with two firefighters sent to the hospital and others treated at the scene. The community now faces the task of cleaning up, including addressing the water runoff from firefighting efforts that filled a construction site across the street. As the cause of the fire remains under investigation, the spirit of the parishioners of Our Lady of the Rosary of Pompeii remains unshaken. Their church, a beacon of faith and community, stands resilient, its doors poised to open once more to welcome back those who call it home.
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