St. Thomas Aquinas Church Building Condemned

The Chief Building Official from the Mid-Ohio Building Department this week condemned St Thomas Aquinas Church in Zanesville due to roof problems. Jason Baughman says after an inspection he found “significant cracks and failures in beams and trusses”. He told officials that the Ash Wednesday Mass had to be moved out of the church. Baughman say “failure could be imminent.” The Catholic Diocese of Columbus issued a statement Thursday through Director of Communications George Jones: “On Wednesday, February 26, following an evaluation by structural engineers of the trusses and posts in the church attic of St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Zanesville, and after a preliminary review of those findings by officials of the Mid-East Ohio Building Department, it was decided to issue a condemnation order of the church building until repairs have been made. Church Staff will continue to work with structural engineers and the Diocese’s Facilities Engineering Team to provide a full assessment of the structure. In the interim, Masses and other Church activities will be relocated to the adjacent St. Thomas Activity Center; weekday Masses will be held in the Chapel. Parishioners will be notified of these changes and will be informed of further developments as information becomes available.” Baughman says with time and money the damage is repairable.