Avondale Catholic church devastated by fire takes donations through Phoenix diocese

A fundraiser was established to support the rebuilding efforts for a parish in the Avondale area, whose church was devastated by an early morning fire Wednesday.

A thousand families were left without a place of worship following a fire at Saint William Catholic Church. The church is located at West 3rd Street near South 11th Avenue in Cashion, just east of Avondale, according to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix.

The fire burned the parish hall, classrooms and a foodbank, according to the diocese. It's possible to make donations online.

"While the official cause of the fire is still being determined, an outpouring of calls from people wanting to help the community rebuild have been flooding into the parish and the Diocese of Phoenix," read a statement from the diocese.

St. William Catholic Church: details of the destructive overnight fire

Though the parish is fully insured, the fundraiser will help address "unknown expenses and needs," the diocese noted.

The church holds services in both English and Spanish, according to the diocese. To accommodate affected parishioners, there will be Sunday Mass services at 8 a.m., 9:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., and 1:30 p.m. at nearby Santa Maria de Guadalupe Mission, located on West Lower Buckeye Road near South 67th Avenue in Phoenix.

Diocese spokesman Brett Meister said fire officials have another inspection to do come Monday.

The diocese mentioned that the church has been serving Catholics in the area since the late 1960s when it was known as St. William Mission. It formally became a parish in August 1973. As attendance outgrew its original building, the church moved to a former Southern Baptist church structure at its current location in the early 1980s.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Saint William Catholic Church takes donations after fire