Casa Grande police are looking for someone who set the church on fire in October

CASA GRANDE, AZ – The Casa Grande Police Department is searching for a person who allegedly set fire to the Catholic Church of St. Anthony of Padua last month.

The Casa Grande Fire Department said a fire on the morning of Oct. 18 caused significant damage to the inside of the building, starting with the electronic and music room on the west side before spreading.

At the time, officials said they had no reason to believe foul play occurred. Now police believe a person seen on surveillance footage is responsible for deliberately setting the church on fire.

Casa Grande church fire monitoring

ABC15 spoke with Father Ariel Lustan after the fire, who said the church has been active in Casa Grande for nearly a century. The current building was built more than 60 years ago.

Fire causes heavy damage to the Catholic church in Casa Grande

“We are the only Catholic church in Casa Grande,” Lustan said. “All those years we’ve done our best to not only beautify this church, but improve it… and now they’re over.”

“That makes me sad. Honestly. This is a beautiful parish with a very beautiful community, so it breaks my heart to see it like this,” said parishioner Michelle Montoya. “I honestly think we will rebuild it, it will be better than before. and I’m a little excited because I feel like God is going to do something big out of this.

Anyone with information about who the person is is asked to contact Detective Teitelbaum either by email at [email protected] or by calling him at 520-421-8711 extension 6017.