(ZENIT News / Quebec, 08.29.2026).- The Saint-Simon wooden church, located on Canada’s Acadian Peninsula, was destroyed by fire on Monday, August 24. Authorities described it as a «total loss.» The Mounted Police arrested a 68-year-old man accused of having caused the fire intentionally with wood in New Brunswick.
Firefighters received a call at 3:30 a.m. regarding a fire alarm activation in the community of Saint-Simon. «Sometimes we get false alarms, but I had a bad feeling,» Caraquet Fire Chief Luc Dugas told Radio-Canada. «I told myself we’d never had issues with this alarm before.»
No one was injured in the fire. The RCMP and the Office of the Fire Marshal are investigating. Dugas considered the fire suspicious due to where it started. «At this time, we believe someone may have started the fire.»
Movement detectors alerted authorities to movement inside the church around 3:20 a.m., he added. When firefighters arrived, flames had already spread throughout the sacristy. «We tried to contain it, but once it gets into the roof — forget it — you can’t put it out,» said Dugas.
The church was reduced to ashes by the fire. Police reported that Gilles Mallet was arrested and remains in custody while the investigation proceeds. The church was built by Acadian architect Nazaire Dugas between 1910 and 1920. The Mayor visited the scene and stated on Radio-Canada’s La Matinale: «The Acadian Festival used it just last week for recitals and concerts.»
The Bishop of Bathurst, Monsignor Michel Proulx, O. Praem., expressed his sorrow over the destruction of the church, describing it as an immeasurable loss: «Many memories are tied to this beautiful wooden church: Baptisms, weddings, funerals, and so many other significant events,» he said. He noted that generations of Christians had celebrated their faith there and that the building constituted «the precious legacy of our ancestors.»
The parish community began as a mission in 1910, and the church building is estimated to have been constructed in 1918. The Bishop pledged his prayers and support to the Saint-Simon community as it grapples with the loss of one of its key spaces for gathering and celebration.
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