On Christmas, thousands throng to fire-ravaged St Sebastian's

The peeled off plasters, melted fans, blackened walls and burnt benches bore a grim reminder of the December 1 fire which had gutted the decade old St Sebastian's Church in Dilshad Garden.
But the gloom is only confined to the four walls of the church building as the Christian community today came out in large numbers to celebrate Christmas in makeshift tents set up in front of the building by the Church authorities.
Father Anthony Francis of the church said the fire could not dampen the spirit of the Christmas celebrations as a large number of people thronged the place to offer their prayers.

To ensure peaceful celebrations, Delhi Police deployed armed personnel outside the church and put in place a tight security cover in the area.
Celebrations started last evening as worshippers in large numbers congregated and attended Christmas carol service. The altar was placed in front of the church's main entrance and people sat facing the church door. The campus was illuminated with twinkling lights, colourful umbrellas and sparkling trees, bells and stars.
The crib was set up at the compound of the community hall next door.

"By 8.10 pm, we started the Holy mass during which passages were read out from the Bible. Also, a procession was taken out to the crib. After all the services got over, we distributed cakes and merriment went on till midnight," said Father Francis.

Today, people in large numbers have visited the church to offer their prayers.
A fire had gutted a major portion of the church on December 1 and the Christian community had alleged a foul play in the incident and had also demanded a judicial enquiry.
"The mystery behind the fire still remains unsolved and there is total silence from the side of police and investigators," Father Francis said, adding that soon they would get a structural engineer to study the strength of the building following which repair would be carried out.