A historic former Roman Catholic church burned down east of the Battlefords Thursday. (submitted/Lenore Swystun/ video by Lynn Swystun)

By battlefordsNOW Staff

church fire

Historic church building burns down near Redberry Lake

Jul 8, 2021 | 5:21 PM

A historical Polish Church building near Redberry Lake burned down Thursday afternoon.

The site is just under an hour east of the Battlefords.

The fire follows a string of church burning incidents across the country, coinciding with the recent discoveries of unmarked graves at residential school sites in British Columbia and Saskatchewan. There was no immediate comment from law enforcement on the cause of the blaze but images captured of the scene shows the blaze spreading quickly.

“It’s sad. The landmark is gone. Unbelievable, ” Lynn Swystun is heard saying while taking a video of the fire. Her family looked after the building. The video was forwarded to media by her sister-in-law Lenore Swystun. The church was a historic landmark for the area.

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The church had reportedly stood for at least a century and had been repaired in recent years.

No statement from law enforcement has been released at this time.

Editor’s note: this story was amended to make clear Lynn Swystun took the video not Lenore Swystun as originally reported.

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cjnbnews@pattisonmedia.com

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