DATELINE: Saint Luke Catholic Church, Carol Stream, Illinois
A church fire at Saint Luke Catholic Church destroyed the nativity scene, only the Jesus figurine pulled through.
The other nativity figurines? The Virgin Mary and Joseph? Smoking! The Three Wisemen? Not so clever anymore. Sheperds? Staffless. The camels, cows, lambs, and the burro? All crispy critters.
Jesus didn’t come out completely unscathed, it looks as if his left foot was amputated before he was entombed in glass.
The fire was out before it was discovered, apparently burning itself out when it ran out of oxygen.
Fire Chief Rob Schultz said, “It is not all that common, but it does happen,” Schultz said. “I think the odd thing here is that it happened in a big building, such as a church.”
“Wow, Christmas miracle. There is no reason it should have gone out,” said Parishioner Mary Lou Gabl, no relation to rocket scientist Jason Gabl.
Speaking about the sooty Jesus figurine, ”In my eyes, it was a miracle. It was our way of saying, ‘Yes we are here. We are not going anywhere'” said another church goer Debbie Templin, who’s not a brain surgeon despite rumors to the contrary. She added, “He is our shining light (the surviving figurine?) amid the darkness of the fire, it is a message we all need to hear and see.”
Insurance will cover the damages, God willing, the sanctuary will reopen in June, fingers crossed!
