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U.P. church destroyed by fire Wednesday

BAY MILLS, Mich. (AP) — Fire in the early hours Wednesday destroyed a Roman Catholic church in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

St. Kateri Tekakwitha Church was built in 1967 in Bay Mills Township in Chippewa County. It was declared a total loss, according to the police at Bay Mills Indian Community.

The church was named for the first Native American to be declared a saint in 2012.

“In the Catholic church she is the saint that watches over us in times of adversity and hardship, and I ask for her to watch over all of our parish as we mourn her loss,” said Whitney Gravelle, tribe chairperson.

The cause of the fire wasn’t immediately known. It was reported shortly before 1:30 a.m.

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