Teen Set Fire To 118-Year-Old Romanesque Minnesota Church: Police

STERNS COUNTY, MN — Police Wednesday announced that a juvenile has admitted to burning down a Catholic Church in a small, central Minnesota town when he was was 13 years old.

On March 11, 2016, the Stearns County officials received a 911 phone call just before 5 p.m. reporting heavy smoke coming from the rear of St. Mary's Catholic Church in Melrose. Fire crews battled the blaze and it was contained around 8:30 p.m.

The fire caused several million dollars in damage to the 118-year-old Romanesque Revival style church, police said. About a week and a half after the fire, investigators classified it as an arson.

The church is fixture in Melrose with its 130-foot towers. The fire caused extensive damage to the altar and sacristy area. The wood altar, which was made in Germany, and installed prior to the churches dedication in 1899, was completed destroyed.

In addition to the damage cause by the fire, there was several feet of standing water in the basement.

For the next 22 months, the Melrose Police Department investigated the arson fire along with state and federal partners. In January 2018, police asked Stearns County Sheriff's Office for additional investigative help.

On June 5, Stearns County Sheriff's Office investigators conducted an interview with a teen. During the course of that interview, the juvenile confessed to have intentionally set fire at the church, according to authorities.

The Juvenile Court proceedings are confidential and no further information will be released.

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