The Sacred Heart rebuilding committee on Christmas Day unveiled a sketch of the buildings it proposes to put up this year, at the burnt-out Main Street site.
The sketch was published in a paid advertisement in the Stabroek News. The advertisement said the estimated cost of construction for the church and presbytery is $260 million and includes the clearing of the site and the fence.
Persons interested in donating money to the project can do so at the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry, account number CIDA 802530; at Scotia Bank account number 10006626; at Republic Bank account number 268-496-7 or at the New Building Society account number 34769.
In October, the Catholic Standard reported that Head of the Catholic Diocese of Guyana Bishop Francis Alleyne, announced the formation of the fundraising committee for the rebuilding of the church and the development of the site. After the fire a site development committee was established to design a new building, on the insistence of some parishioners and others in the Catholic community.
Around 8.50 am on Christmas Day in 2004, electric bulbs in the crib set up to recreate the nativity scene had sparked fire, which caught onto combustible material and within minutes the entire church, the presbytery and school were gutted. About 60, mostly elderly, worshippers were attending the service at the time.
The fire quickly spread and gutted neighbouring buildings such as the Kirpalani bond and a customs brokerage to the north of the Sacred Heart Primary school, which was also destroyed. Twenty vehicles in the King Solomon Shipping compound located south of the school were also destroyed and the building was scorched. The building which housed the then Universal Airlines and other businesses to the north of the church were also scorched. Records from the church and school were completely destroyed.
