Man charged with arson over Avondale church fire

The fire had been investigated by Police since it broke out at 4.20am on July 14. There were no injuries, but the building sustained “serious damage”, according to Police.

On July 22, Detective Senior Sergeant Rebecca Kirk said Police had arrested a 42-year-old man at a property in New Lynn the previous night. He was charged with arson and was scheduled to appear in the Auckland District Court.

“This is a great result, and I would like to acknowledge the assistance received by Police from members of the public in relation to this investigation,” DSS Kirk said.

In a Facebook video update on July 21, Auckland Diocese general manager James van Schie noted that the slab that had been beneath the church was now exposed and was being sealed following demolition work.

Parish priest Fr Andrew Matthew expressed his gratitude to Christ the King parish in Owairaka for accommodating the St Mary’s community last weekend. 

Fr Matthew noted that a statue of Our Lady of Vailankanni had been recovered from the gutted church, but other statues had been destroyed. He showed some other items that had been recovered – the Celtic cross from the top of the building, the Māori panels from the entrance and the baptismal font. 

“I would like to thank everybody that has come down [to the site], shared their story, [and] brought their gifts. That is a great sign of a strong community,” he said.

“I am not just talking about the Catholic faithful. I am also talking about all the people that have turned up, maybe from a different denomination, or even that don’t have any faith, they just wanted to come in and say how sorry they were to see such an iconic building destroyed.”

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Police have charged a man with… (Auckland Police/Facebook)

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