A PRIEST has recalled the moment he felt a “physical pain” as he watched black smoke and flames engulf his chapel.

Father William McGinley, 77, was too late to stop a blaze that ravaged through St Patrick’s Church in Old Kilpatrick last Monday, August 17.

At 5.25pm, the elderly clergyman was alerted to the fire that he says started in an alcove at the rear of the chapel on Dumbarton Road.

He watched on in horror with parishioners and members of the public as “acrid” dark smoke bellowed from the holy building.

“The heat was so intense as I approached the fire and due to the black acrid smoke I could barely see the young man who had come to my door to alert me of the fire.

After five minutes fire engines had arrived.

“All I could do was stand there and let the fire brigade do their job. I felt a physical pain in the heart, and someone said to me 'your colour is the same as your grey jacket’, and I was totally unaware of that.

“However, I was aware of the powerlessness of the situation at hand — it was a terrible shock to the system to see the church go up in flames.” Father McGinley told how he did not want to let himself go into shock, having suffered from a heart attack ten years ago.

“I said to myself the prayer of serenity, which goes like 'god grant me the serenity to accept the things I can’t change, courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference,’” he said. “It’s to retain piece of mind when everything is going wrong.” Father McGinley has been the parish priest since October 2013 and prior to that he was at St Conval’s in Pollok, Glasgow, for 15 years. He was ordained in 1962.

As the blaze took hold on the evening of the incident parishioners, members of the public and priests from around the area flocked to comfort the priest, who was left energised by the support.

By 10pm, the blaze had been extinguished and fire fighters left the scene.

CID closed the area off as a crime scene for three days as they investigated a potential criminal element to the fire. It is not yeat clear whether or not the fire was deliberate.

Help also came from the Church of Scotland as the locum minister for Old Kilpatrick Parish Church offered a hand of friendship.

Rev John Harris convened the kirk session and they voted unanimously to allow the Catholic Church to use Old Kilpatrick Parish Church for Sunday mass.

The regular 150 to 200-strong congregation are now able to attened mass at 9.30am every Sunday until further notice.

On Sunday, August 23, a special mass was held, joined by Father Philip Tartaglia, the archbishop of Glasgow.

Father McGinley told the Post: “I would like to say thank you for the support I got from my parishioners, but also the people of Old Kilpatrick who were as shocked as I was, and the Church of Scotland for their immediate assistance.” Some believe the fire was started deliberately, but the elder clergyman told how he holds no grudges.

He said: “The CID have not come to any conclusion. It looks as though it was started at the bins, and if it was children I could understand — I don’t want to blame them. I’m sure it wasn’t an act of vandalism or deliberate fire raising.

“I think it may have just been youngsters playing and not thinking about the consequences of their actions.” Father McGinley added: “I have no bad feelings in that way, this is just a tragedy and let’s just accept it as it is and get on from here.

“The situation has engendered so much good feeling, and I’m not saying it’s a good thing, but there are a lot of consequences for us that has let us see there’s a real swell of good will around the whole of Old Kilpatrick.” The cleanup of the church has begun and now the Archdiocese of Glasgow must consider what action to take next. There is no information of what the cost is likely to be to repair the damage to the church, but Father McGinley told how surveyors will visit this week to assess damage.