In 1982, the Holy Name was burned to ash by Jeffrey Sloane, 16. Sloane made claims to abuse by the Reverend Andrew Nortz, settled out of court three weeks before the fire. Sloane was sentenced to serve in juvenile detention until he reached the age of eighteen; he stabbed another inmate (John Emanuel Rafael, 15 in 1984) exactly two months to the day before his eighteenth birthday. He is currently serving his life sentence in Rhode Island Maximum Security State Prison in Cranston, Rhode Island.
The Holy Name was rebuilt in 1986. It burned again, to the ground, in 1987, immediate cause undetermined. The Reverend Rafael's body was found among the ashes.
Signs pointing the way to the church, in various states of rust or decay, some smoking (particularly in rain or fog), some bloodied, some still shiny and new, have appeared (according to various reliable reports) at literally scores of different locations throughout Providence and Cranston from 1987 to present day. The church itself seems not to have reappeared. Photographic evidence is rarely available.
??? The church is still standing, and in use by multiple different Catholic congregations (African tridentine and novus ordo). Pastor is Fr Santos, nice guy. No ghosts.
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