Within hours after a Confirmation service Saturday, November 7, St. Theresa Church in Cordele was struck by a fire that severely damaged a section of the building.

Firefighters were able to contain the blaze to the southeast corner of the southwest Georgia church. Fire investigators have not given a cause for the fire but there is speculation that it originated in the electrical wiring.

St. Theresa pastoral coordinator Beverly Barter returned to the church about 9:45 p.m. Saturday to clean up after the Confirmation service and noticed heat and smoke inside the back door. She called Crisp County Fire and Rescue.  Father Robert Cushing, St. Theresa pastor, was awakened by the commotion outside the rectory and by Barter's ringing of the doorbell and ran to open the front door of the church, where he encountered a wall of heat and smoke.

"Some of us have teased Beverly about being obsessive about her work with the church," Father Cushing said  later. "If she had not come back, there would be nothing much left of our beautiful little church." Constructed in 1931, the church was originally called the Church of the Little Flower, a name given to St. Theresa.

Earlier Saturday, Bishop J. Kevin Boland conferred the sacrament of Confirmation on 27 young people from three parishes-St. Theresa in Cordele, St. Michael Parish in Montezuma and St. Mary Parish in Americus-in the Cordele church. "There is some irony in what happened in the church on Saturday," Bishop Boland said. "Earlier it was a day of joy and blessing for these young people and their families. Little did we realize that within hours of the conclusion of that happy occasion that this accident was unfolding. This mirrors life. There is joy and sadness.

It also gives hope. No life was taken and this sacred structure will be restored to its former beauty."

Bishop Boland, who was informed of the fire and arrived on the scene a short time later, said he was "deeply impressed with the concern and commitment of the firefighters in bringing this inferno under control. It could easily have destroyed the whole church.

As it transpired, the firefighters were able to contain the fire to one corner of the edifice, though this section was severely damaged. Most of the roof and walls were not compromised."

The bishop and Father Cushing celebrated two outdoor Masses for the parish on Sunday-one in English, the other in Spanish.

Father Cushing has scheduled a "town-hall meeting" for the evening of November 11 to talk about rebuilding the church.