A 164-year-old historic church in Leicester, UK “caught fire” this week, leaving its roof severely damaged while officials initially described the cause as unknown.
Firefighters battled a large blaze at St Andrew’s Church on Jarrom Street through the night after multiple calls came in just after 11pm on Tuesday. A coffin containing a body prepared for a funeral service the next morning was rescued from the sanctuary. No one was injured.
The church, built in 1862 and designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott, is an Anglo-Catholic parish known for its patterned red brick and historic significance. The fire started on the ground floor and spread to the roof.
Lord Mayor Kulwinder Singh Johal, later posted that he was “heartbroken” by the “devastating fire,” describing the landmark as cherished and extending gratitude to the fire crews while offering support to the congregation.
The 23.5 percent figure matches the 2021 census data for Leicester, up from 18.6 percent a decade earlier. Christian identification in the city has declined in the same period.
Comedian and commentator John Cleese quoted a post observing that “The church in Leicester is also on fire. In Europe, only churches burn, not mosques,” and replied: “I wonder what the reason is. There seems to be a pattern here.”
This latest incident in the UK sits against a backdrop of repeated church fires that have drawn limited official attention compared with other religious sites.
In February, the historic Kings Hall Methodist Church in Southall, West London, burned to the ground in a massive overnight blaze that required more than ten fire engines and around 70 firefighters. Much of the over-100-year-old building was reduced to ashes. The government response was notably muted.
Days later, Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressed clear concern over a security incident at Manchester Central Mosque during Ramadan, highlighting up to £40 million in funding for additional security at mosques, Muslim schools and community centres.
He remained silent on the Southall church destruction and the broader pattern of attacks on Christian sites.
National Churches Trust data has previously recorded hundreds of attacks on churches, including arson, alongside thousands of crimes at church properties over recent years, with security funding per site far lower than for mosques or synagogues.
The UK cases form part of a wider Western pattern. In Canada, arson attacks on churches more than doubled after 2021. A Macdonald-Laurier Institute report found fewer than 4 percent of cases resulted in charges. One of the more recent examples was the 1893 church in Saint-Romain, Quebec, destroyed by fire in April and treated as arson.
France has seen a sustained wave. Nearly 50 fires or arson attempts on churches and Christian sites were recorded in one recent year.
A 19th-century church in Montenach was gutted in May, with officials blaming a nearby brush fire. Other historic sites, including a 17th-century chapel and a cloister, suffered major fire damage around the same period.
Studies have noted a Christian religious building disappearing every two weeks through fire, collapse or deliberate damage.
In the United States, New York City saw the 173-year-old South Bushwick Reformed Church in Brooklyn gutted in June. The cause was initially listed as under investigation before the FDNY confirmed it was intentionally set. A person of interest was seen fleeing on video; no arrest followed.
The city rejected a preservation plan and ordered demolition. Weeks earlier, a 138-year-old church in Astoria, Queens, suffered severe damage in a five-alarm fire, also followed by rapid moves toward demolition.
Most recently in Buffalo, the 140-year-old former St. Ann’s Church and Shrine, sold in 2022 to a group affiliated with the Downtown Islamic Center for conversion into an Islamic community centre, was hit by multiple fires this year.
Two were confirmed as arson within four days in July. The site had already suffered a major fire earlier in the year. Local officials expressed frustration at the owners’ failure to secure the vacant landmark.
Across these cases the official language often settles on “unknown,” “accidental,” or “under investigation.”
Suspects are rarely identified.
Historic Christian buildings disappear while demographic shifts continue and political priorities remain selective. The Leicester fire is simply the latest entry in a lengthening record.
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