Cleanup begins at St. Matthew Church in Allouez after break in arson

A broken window where investigators believe someone
broke in to start a fire at St. Matthew Church. (WBAY photo)

ALLOUEZ, Wis. (WBAY) - Investigators are praising the quick actions of local homeowners reporting information that led to a man they say is responsible for setting fires in a church and damaging two homes.

An 18-year-old man from the Green Bay area has been booked on charges of burglary, arson and criminal damage to property after the string of seemingly random crimes in Allouez just hours apart.

"We have three separate events that at the time we did not know were connected," Brown County Sheriff's Capt. Jody Lemmens said.

At 1:42 a.m., the Green Bay Metro Fire Department was called to a fire alarm at St. Matthew Catholic Church and Father Allouez School, 2575 S. Webster Ave.

continue at WBAY

Mackenzie A. Guillen was arrested early Wednesday morning, about two hours after the Green Bay Metro Fire Department was called to a small fire at St. Matthew Catholic Church, 2575 S. Webster Ave.

Man arrested on suspicion of starting Allouez church fire that burned Bible

Group to raise money to save Allouez chapel

ALLOUEZ, Wis. (WBAY) – Wednesday night, the Allouez Historic Preservation Committee is expected to publicly support the efforts to save a chapel in the village.

What’s known as the “Red Chapel,” is owned by the Diocese of Green Bay and was scheduled to be demolished this summer, but the Diocese now says that plan is on hold.

In May, Action 2 News reported about the planned demolition and that the Brown County Historical Society had until June to come up with a plan to save the chapel.

“It’s got a very peaceful feeling to it and it’s really a wonderful part of our history,” said Christine Dunbar, executive director of the Brown County Historical Society.

continue at WBAY

140-year-old Allouez cemetary chapel headed for wrecking ball

Crumbling and collapsing from foundation to steeple, the little red brick chapel in the Allouez Cemetery is looking old for its age.

And its age is considerable.

At 140 years old, it shares a birthday with the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay’s flagship structure, St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, but it’s received little of the same TLC over the decades.

This is one of the oldest cemeteries in the state of Wisconsin, and the little red chapel presides over some of the oldest gravestones on the grounds. Most of the graves lying within the chapel’s shadow have been there for more than 100 years. Some of the nearby stones are no longer legible. There’s an angel standing nearby who long ago lost one of her wings.

continue at GBPG