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Paris blaze rekindles memories of St. Columba fire
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YOUNGSTOWN — The images of the Notre Dame Cathedral engulfed in flames Monday looked eerily similar to the fire that scorched St. Columba Cathedral on Youngstown’s near North Side on Sept. 2, 1954.
Sixty-five years ago, lightning struck the cathedral’s organ loft, and the resulting fire gutted the wooden Gothic landmark, which was the seat of the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown.
Eleven fire companies would battle the blaze for multiple hours, The Vindicator reported. Only the stone walls and two towers topped by steeples remained after the blaze.
When asked about the fire that destroyed the original St. Columba Cathedral in Youngstown, Monsignor John A. Zuraw, chancellor for the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown, said: “Individuals mourned the loss of that cathedral. They buried loved ones at that cathedral. People were married at that cathedral. It had a great impact.”
Msgr. Zuraw said he was saddened to see the devastating fire at the French landmark in the heart of Paris.
“The country of France will mourn the loss of this building that’s been important religiously and historically,” he said. “Whenever there is a historical building that is heavily damaged or destroyed, it brings up the memories that building created. Lives have been centered around those buildings, and when this happens, it brings significant memories to mind. It’s like a family losing a home to a fire.”