[media-credit name=’Photo courtesy of Jennifer Nielsen’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]A fire at St. Raphael Cathedral, 222 W. Main Street, caused traffic delays around the Capitol Square area as firefighters worked for hours to extinguish the flames early Monday morning. No one was injured in the blaze.

Firefighters arrived at about 5:30 a.m. after a passerby called 911 when flames were seen pouring out of a church window, according to a release. Black smoke rose from the 150-year-old cathedral as the Madison Fire Department, as well as the Fitchburg Fire Department who sent one fire truck at about 6:45 a.m., prevented the fire from traveling to surrounding buildings. The cause of the fire remains unknown.

According to Mayor Dave Cieslewicz’s spokesperson George Twigg, the mayor was at the church this morning with the fire department and other city officials responding to the call.

“The mayor feels it was a terrible tragedy … [the steeple] was a real distinctive part of the Madison skyline,” Twigg said. “He has offered his best wishes to all the members of the church and hopefully they will be able to rebuild and recover.”

One thousand pounds of water were aimed at the steeple per minute in an attempt to preserve the bell tower, which was recently replaced for $1 million. Findorff Construction hopes to save the steeple by removing it from the building, according to a release.

Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, who has attended services and volunteered at the church, said if the steeple had not been reconstructed recently, it probably would have collapsed very easily. The new steeple is not currently structurally sound though, he added, and nobody is permitted within a close radius of the church to prevent potential injuries.

The roof of the church completely collapsed but officials are still waiting to analyze the rest of the structural damage, Twigg added.

Bernadette Galvez, public information officer for the Madison Fire Department, said St. Raphael’s Church is the “mother church” of all the dioceses of Madison. The historic building used to house a school, she added. Members of the church will hold a meeting today to discuss the future of the building, Galvez said.

Rebecca Schneider, University of Wisconsin junior who runs the Catholic Student Union on campus, said many members of the organization attended St. Raphael Cathedral for mass.

“It’s such an unfortunate thing that happened,” Schneider said. “It’s just a shock — you never really think something like this is going to happen.”

Schneider said the Catholic Student Union will probably work to raise money or organize some sort of support for the reconstruction of the church, but she has not thought that far in the future at this time.

The church celebrated their 150th anniversary last September, Verveer said, and the loss of the most historical landmark in the city is a “tragic loss” for the entire community. Many local baptisms, weddings and funerals took place inside the walls of the church, Verveer added.

“There are 150 years worth of important memories and milestones for literally thousands of community members,” Verveer said. “Dozens of people came to the site totally emotionally distraught [after the fire].”