Source: Los Angeles Times

On December 17, 2000, the Los Angeles Times reported that a historic Los Angeles church, ruined by arson last year, will undergo restoration soon. "Several hundred worshipers and well-wishers turned out on a sun-splashed Saturday afternoon as Cardinal Roger M. Mahony presided over a dedication to begin restoration of the historic church. It serves a community made up mostly of immigrants from Mexico and Central America and their children. Emotions ran high as the cardinal, resplendent in his pointed cap, or mitre, and cream-colored vestments, marched near the head of the posada and later addressed the gathering from the church steps. Tears came to some in the crowd...The restoration will almost double seating at the church, providing places for 940 worshipers. The work will take a year and cost $ 2.5 million, funded by the archdiocese, insurance and donations said the pastor, Father Jarlath 'Jay' Cunnane, ruddy-faced and proud. 'Yes, our people are poor, and they're immigrants, but they have great faith,' said Cunnane, a native of the west of Ireland, a region that has also sent generations of immigrants to the United States. A special House of Worship Arson Task Force is investigating this and other fires, said Capt. Steve Ruda, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesman. In the 18 months since the blaze, services have been held at the church parking lot, at a warehouse and at nearby Loyola High School. The church's loss, and the sense that it is coming back, was palpable on this stretch of Pico bedecked with multihued streamers and balloons...The church and its elementary school are pillars of the neighborhood, said the Very Rev. Father John S. Bakas, dean of St. Sophia Cathedral, a Greek Orthodox church a block away. During the ceremony, well-wishers came to the podium and prayed for blessings in various languages, including English, Spanish, Korean and several Indian tongues."