Church volunteer arrested over cathedral blaze
A REFUGEE from Rwanda looked after by church workers has been arrested over the devastating Nantes cathedral blaze.
The man, a church volunteer, is thought to be linked to three fires in the ancient cathedral in western France on Saturday.
A source close to the investigation said yesterday: “The suspect had the keys to the cathedral and was inside on Friday night and there was no sign of a break-in.
“He is being held in custody while being interrogated by lawyers and judicial police.”
Nantes prosecutor Pierre Sennes said the 39-year-old man had been responsible for closing the cathedral hours before the fires began.
The flames spread through the centre of St Peter and St Paul Cathedral, destroying the 17th-century organ and priceless stained-glass windows.
Cathedral rector Father Hubert Champenois said the suspect had worked for the diocese for several years. Emergency crews who took 10 hours to control the blaze said the worst damage was the “complete destruction” of the organ, which dates back to 1621.The intense heat also blew out stained glass.
More than 100 firefighters fought the blaze and had to smash a door with an axe to rescue ecclesiastical and art treasures. French President Emmanuel Macron praised the crews who took risks “to save this Gothic jewel of the city of the Dukes”.
Unlike the wood-supported roof of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, which burned down last April, Nantes had concrete beams fitted after a 1972 fire.
Listed as a historic monument in 1862, the cathedral dominates the centre of Nantes.
Building began in 1434 and took more than four centuries.
It is illuminated by 500 pieces of colourful stained glass and boasts an 11th-century Roman crypt.