BAY MILLS TOWNSHIP, MI-- A Catholic church dedicated to the first Native American saint has been destroyed by fire in Bay Mills Township.
The fire at St. Kateri Tekakwitha Church was reported Wednesday around 1:25 a.m. Firefighters with Bay Mills, Superior and Dafter townships battled the flames but the building is considered a total loss.
The present church opened in 1967 after the original church was also destroyed by a fire. Bay Mills Indian Community Tribal Chair Whitney Gravelle says Saint Kateri “watches over us in times of adversity and hardship.”
The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Michigan State Police Fire Marshal.
