FRANKLIN, Mass. — Song and sermon filled the first floor of Saint Mary Catholic Church in Franklin during Sunday morning mass. It’s the first Sunday in months that churchgoers were allowed back into that worship space since a fire damaged it in late October.
Father Bob Poitras expressed his gratitude to have the space back after a “huge renovation” that cost the church just over $1 million to sanitize, repaint, and replace items damaged in the fire. Since last year, mass has been held in the church’s basement.
“That’s what brings joy to my heart this week. Not only do we have our beautiful church back, but our parish as a whole again,” he said.
Parishioners told Boston 25 News that Sunday’s mass was a joyful occasion.
“It felt like an arrival back, not necessarily heaven, but close enough,” said Joe Ewald.
According to fire investigators, someone intentionally set the fire inside the church, but they haven’t made an arrest yet.
With that in mind, some parishioners are concerned about whether it could happen again.
“I don’t know if we’ll ever know what normal was for us before. It’ll be different now going forward,” said Poitras.
He added that the church will have more security than it did before, and it won’t be as accessible to the community.
“There are some security steps that we are waiting to continue to put in place now that we know what needs to happen, and where some of our weaknesses were in this whole event.”
The Office of the State Fire Marshall continues to ask the community for assistance in finding the arsonist(s) responsible. If you have information, call the Arson Watch Hotline at 1-800-682-9229. You can leave an anonymous tip and could be eligible to receive up to $5,000 cash for helpful information.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
©2025 Cox Media Group
