Parishioners catch first glimpse of Salem church since destructive 2023 arson

St. Joseph Catholic Church in Salem still has no pews, no altar and no artwork. Yet, parishioners lined up to get a look inside the historic building, some for the first time in two years.

The church held an open house for members of the community on May 18 to show the progress made in the rebuilding process, after a 2023 fire heavily damaged the building.

The line for a tour wrapped around the church’s large campus, each person eagerly awaiting a chance to see the progress on repairs.

Deacon James Thurman said it has been a long, emotional process. The church-owned gymnasium where they’ve been worshipping lacks many of the hallmarks of faith typically found in a Catholic church. A church, Thurman said, is mostly the people — but a proper building does help.

“We’ve been in the gym for a couple years now, and there is no beauty. There’s no frescoes and stained glass and beautiful bells,” he said. “Art really helps teach the faith.”

Parishioners filed into the building, much of which was blocked off with construction tape. The guts of the building were still exposed, with steel and concrete largely visible.

Crews will work next on the electrical and plumbing systems before moving onto the more decorative aspects, according to Aaron Terpening of CBTWO Architects, the Salem-based firm leading the church’s renovations.

Terpening said this is the largest church project he has worked on, and that he has to balance his ideas with the theology and values of the congregation. That’s led to ongoing communication with the Archdiocese of Portland and committees of parishioners advising the process.

“I don’t want to assume that my ideas are just good ideas when there is a lot of theology involved in the architecture,” he said.

‘Such a sad image’

A stone’s throw from the Oregon State Capitol, St. Joseph‘s Catholic Church was established in 1853, making it the oldest Catholic parish in Salem. The current building on Chemeketa Street was dedicated in 1953.

But the life of the church was upended in 2023 when a man deliberately started a dumpster fire that engulfed part of the church, rendering it unusable. The man, Billy Sweeten, was eventually convicted and sentenced to three years in prison.

Since the fire, the church has been holding its services in the school gym. The choir performs under a basketball scoreboard and makeshift confessionals have been constructed.

Alisha Hauge still remembered the significant damage and emotional toll the fire had on the congregation.

“It was heartbreaking,” Hauge said. “Such a sad image to see of the place you love.”

But the open house offered the hope that, sooner rather than later, life at St. Joseph can return to what it was before, with services in a proper church building.

Eyes on Christmas

Crews have spent the past two years rebuilding the walls and roof. Little evidence remains of the fire; some smoke damage is still visible on one of the trusses on the ceiling.

They still have to wait for repairs on some of the church’s most recognizable features: pews are being constructed in Arkansas, while the stained glass windows are being fixed in Wisconsin. A company in Portland is cleaning St. Joseph‘s massive pipe organ.

Kathleen Heckel has been attending church at St. Joseph since 1959, and said she was glad to get a glimpse after waiting so long.

“It is interesting to see it so cold-looking with that cement,” Heckel said. “We miss it and we will be so happy to be back.”

While the goal is to preserve the look of the original church, there will still be many updates. The new building will have arches on each side, air conditioning and better acoustics. There’s also been an opportunity to reflect on the effects of the fire.

The fire collapsed the roof above the altar. Shane Fagan, one of the architects on the project, said natural light poured in from above. They decided to honor that memory with an oculus above the altar.

“Within that tragedy, there’s this really beautiful moment of the natural light being able to come into the space,” Fagan said. “It was just taking some subtle changes to what was already existing, maintaining more or less the shape of the church, but also providing that kind of inspirational moment of that light.”

The goal now is to complete repairs in time for Christmas. Despite the long closure, everyone seemed optimistic that crews could meet the deadline.

“It’s very exciting to think that we’re going to be under the same roof again,” Thurman said. “It’s turned out to be more beautiful than it was before.”