Police have confirmed they are treating yesterday’s small fire at St Mary’s Basilica, in Tyne St, as arson.
St Mary’s Basilica parish priest Fr Gerard Aynsley said "someone" had gone up into the church’s choir loft and lit a fire in the filing cabinet.
A parishioner smelled the smoke as she was praying and notified him.
Had she not gone in to pray at that time "we might not have been going to lock it up now and it would have been in full flames by now", Fr Aynsley said.
They were "very, very lucky".
Fr Aynsley said the damage had not spread beyond the filing cabinet, which had sheet music inside.
It was "a bit annoying".
"We do have the church open every day for people to come in and to pray, so you want to think that it’s being looked after.
"A bit longer and it would have caused probably serious damage — very, very serious damage."
The church would remain locked until police could examine the scene again, he said.
"It’ll be a bit smoky on Sunday, but we’ll still be using it."
St Mary’s Basilica was built in 1905 and designed by famed Dunedin architect Francis Petre, who also designed the former St Dominic’s Priory and St Joseph’s Cathedral.
A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesman said they received reports of a fire at a church about 5.10pm yesterday.
Two appliances were dispatched.
"When they arrived, they found a small fire and used a bucket of water to extinguish it.
"They were then using a fan to clear the smoke.
Crews were alerted to the fire early enough that it was still small when they arrived, the spokesman said.
A police spokeswoman confirmed they were treating the fire as arson.
"Anyone with information that could assist our inquires is asked to contact police via 105, quoting event number P064082366."
