CANADA: Historic Saint-Simon Catholic Church In New Brunswick Built In 1910 Was Burned To The Ground. Authorities Arrested The Arsonist.

I added the map above to highlight New Brunswick for reference.

68yr-old Gilles Mallet of New Brunswick burned down the largest wooden church left in New Brunswick. It was built in the 1910s.https://t.co/l1jxb19LBQ pic.twitter.com/cOzdfPiQGg

— Marc Mongrain (@Lukathor) August 27, 2026

Oh lookie, what do we have here? 🤔 (emphasis mine)

Gilles Mallet has been arrested on allegations of setting the century-old community church on New Brunswick's Acadian Peninsula ablaze.

It's one of the few cases of church arson in the past few years where an alleged arsonist has been arrested.

What should be the punishment for… pic.twitter.com/iXJpFnshe0

— Canada Proud (@WeAreCanProud) August 27, 2026

CTV News published August 25, 2026: A 68-year-old man has been charged with burning down a New Brunswick church.

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CBS News, Canada local

Man charged with arson following Saint-Simon Church fire

written by Katelin Belliveau

Tuesday August 25, 2026

A man from Saint-Simon has been charged with arson following a massive blaze Monday morning that destroyed the small village's church on the Acadian Peninsula.

Sixty-eight-year-old Gilles Mallet appeared in Bathurst provincial court Monday, according to RCMP.

Firefighters in Saint-Simon, which is part of the municipality of Caraquet, reached the scene of a large fire around 4 a.m. Monday morning. The community's church, believed to be the largest wooden church left in New Brunswick, was a total loss.

Following its investigation, the Office of the Fire Marshal concluded the fire had been intentionally set.

Mallet was identified as a person of interest "early in the investigation" on Monday and he was arrested the same day, according to a RCMP statement released Tuesday.

The building was unoccupied when it burned.

Caraquet fire Chief Luc Dugas said in an interview with Radio-Canada on Monday that a motion-detection device captured movement inside the church around 3:20 a.m., moments before a 911 call came into emergency responders.

Mallet was remanded into custody after his appearance. His bail hearing is set for Aug. 28.

RCMP is asking anyone who was in the area at the time of the fire to contact Caraquet RCMP or Crime Stoppers.