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Chicago: fire sweeps through Catholic cathedral


A fire swept through Chicago's Holy Name Cathedral on Wednesday morning. Officials say the blaze broke out at about 05.29 (1129 GMT) in a roof area and took fire crews about three hours to put out.

Although there were some people in the church at the time of the blaze everyone was evacuated safely.

The original church was destroyed by a fire in 1871. The new cathedral was built four years later.

Fr Dan Mayall said daily Masses will resume today in other parish buildings near the Cathedral.

Fr Mayall said he was saddened by the fact that "we're back at square one," after extensive renovations that have been done recently.

Cardinal George arrived at the scene and praised the fire department for their speedy response. He told a press conference said that while there was considerable damage to the roof. "Chicago is good at bouncing back from fires," he said. "I think that we'll bounce back from this."

He reassured Catholics across Chicago that necessary repairs will be done as soon as possible. The cathedral was closed for about six months during previous renovation efforts.

George said that one firefighter was injured with a sprained back during the operation and asked for prayers for his full recovery.

The cause of the fire is now under investigation.

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