News Photo by Michael Gonzalez St. Rose of Lima Church still stands but remains scarred and severely damaged on Wednesday.

ALPENA — In the wake of damage suffered during a fire on Good Friday, St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church in Herron will not be rebuilt and will not reopen, according to the Diocese of Gaylord.

A meeting last Thursday occurred at the All Saints Parish Center, which hosted Bishop Jeffrey Walsh, St. Rose Parish Administrator Theresa Zbytowski, and Rev. Tyler Bischoff to discuss the future of the church.

It was at that meeting that Walsh announced the decision to not rebuild St. Rose of Lima.

“I know there is much sadness about this decision,” Walsh said. “I know it can evoke feelings similar to mourning the loss of a loved one. I ask the faithful to join me in prayerfully supporting the good people of St. Rose of Lima Parish during this difficult time.”

A formal process will occur later on to transfer “sacramental records,… provide pastoral care,” and officially state the parish’s closure. Members of the parish are also asked to disperse to other local parishes like St. Augustine Parish in Hillman and All Saints Parish in Alpena.

A Facebook group was formed by Zbytowski soon after the Good Friday fire to keep parishioners updated on mass, meetings, and other news concerning the church. A parishioner asked several days ago for an update on the fate of the parish, to which fellow member Anne LaLonde O’Neal responded that it was closing down and not coming back. Other parishioners responded to the comment with words of sadness.

O’Neal said that a lot of people were sad from the announcement during the meeting.

Parishioner Matthew Germain, who’s been with St. Rose for 12 years, said that many of the members were so upset that some members of the community plan to appeal the decision, “all the way up to the Vatican, if we have to.”

“We don’t like the idea that this church is just gone,” Germain said. “You can take Communion at any other church. You can worship at any other church. This is our community and Herron’s church.”

Germain said the group of church members plans to look for public disapproval of the decision and hope that St. Rose of Lima will be brought back to its former state.

On Good Friday, an electrical fire severely damaged the inside of the church, but did not stop worshippers from continuing mass as it was held in the parking lot of the parish on Easter Sunday.

The fire broke out around 8 p.m. on April 7 and firefighters from multiple townships worked until about midnight to extinguish the fire and keep the structure from being a total loss. Nobody was in the church during the fire and firefighters were not injured during their battle against the blaze.

Gil LaCross, fire chief in Wilson Township, told The News a few days after the fire that when fire crews arrived, there was fire in the southeastern corner of the structure and it spread into the attic. He said holes were cut into the roof to help keep the fire from spreading and crews attacked the blaze with hoses from the inside. In the end, the church suffered heavy smoke and water damage.

Despite the damage, the church remained standing after the fire and firefighters were able to retrieve a large cross from inside.

“The parishioners of St. Rose of Lima are to be commended for their fidelity over the years,” Walsh said. “We celebrate the generations of people in the area of Herron who helped sustain the parish throughout its history.”