Washington D.C., Aug 24, 2011 / 15:35 pm
Churches in the archdioceses of Washington and Baltimore suffered some damage in the Aug. 23 earthquake that shook the northeastern United States. The oldest church in the Archdiocese of Baltimore will be closed for repairs for at least several weeks.
St. Patrick Catholic Church in Baltimore’s Fells Point neighborhood has been deemed unsafe. Its steeple was badly damaged. Several concrete parts of it fell and one piece gouged the sidewalk.
Archbishop Edwin O’Brien of Baltimore visited the church on the morning of Aug. 24 and reviewed the damage with parish administrator Fr. Robert Wojtek.
“We thank the Lord that no one was injured,” Archbishop O’Brien told The Catholic Review. “It will be a while before we reopen. We want to get back to business as usual as soon as we can, but everyone knows we want to play it safe.”