By Joe Edwards
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A devastating fire engulfed the historic Bernaga Monastery near Milan, Italy, on Saturday evening, local media and officials reported.
Newsweek reached out to Italy’s national fire brigade for comment via email on Monday.
The Context
The Bernaga Monastery, established in 1628 in La Valletta Brianza, about 19 miles east of Milan, is recognized as an architectural heritage site. It is also the place where Saint Carlo Acutis, recently canonized as the Catholic Church's first millennial saint, received his First Communion, according to several media reports. Sunday marked Acutis' first feast day.
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What To Know
The fire began shortly after 8 p.m. local time on Saturday and destroyed part of the seventeenth-century building, according to local media.
Fire brigades dispatched multiple teams from nearby cities to contain the blaze.
According to regional councilor Massimo Sertori, the 21 nuns residing at the monastery were evacuated safely. Nineteen of the nuns were relocated to the Little Apostles in Ponte Lambro, while two were in a shelter near Erba, Sertori said.
Sertori said in a social media post on Sunday that the flames may have spread due to a short circuit in one of the monastery’s cells, and added that the damage to the building, which he indicated contained valuable paintings, was extensive.
Images shared by Italy’s national fire brigade, along with footage circulating on social media, showed firefighters on the scene as flames caused considerable damage to the structure’s roof.
What People Are Saying
Lombardy President Attilio Fontana said in a social media post on Sunday: “The flames destroyed a historical place of our territory, whose roots sink into the Middle Ages, injuring the memory and identity of our land.
“In that monastery many young people have lived important moments in their walk of faith, receiving the sacraments, including the young Saint Charles Acutis who made his first communion there.”
Lombardy Councilor Massimo Sertori said in a social media post on Sunday: “A due THANK YOU to the firefighters, who intervened in a timely manner with 9 teams from Lecco, Monza Brianza and Como. The operations of extinguishing and securing what remains of the monastery are still underway.”
What Happens Next
The Italian national fire brigade said on X that they had the flames under control by Sunday, and that cleanup operations were underway in the areas affected by the fire.
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