The wreckage of St. Mary’s Mission Church was still smoldering at noon Saturday, Dec. 2, as congregants stood at the edge of a caution-tape boundary, paying their respects.
The historic church, which has served the Red Lake Reservation since the 1800s, burned to the ground overnight, leaving nothing but the chimney intact. Charred debris had traveled the entire length of the large field that separated the church from the nearby fire station, and wood splinters showed where the bell tower had stood.