The Associated Press
MASSILLON, Ohio — A fire has damaged a shrine at a northeast Ohio church listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The fire was reported Tuesday at the nearly 140-year-old St. Mary Catholic Church in Massillon. The Independent newspaper reports people visit the site year-round to pray to St. Dymphna, patron saint of those with nervous diseases and mental and emotional disorders.
Parishioners cried outside the church Tuesday, watching smoke from a steeple above the St. Dymphna Shrine. Mary Randles, who works there, says the statue of the saint was apparently destroyed.
Monsignor John Zuraw with the Diocese of Youngstown says the diocese will cooperate with local agencies investigating what caused the blaze.
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