This St. Francis Statue Is the Only Thing at a Calif. School That Wasn't Destroyed by Wildfires: 'Symbol of Hope' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

A statue of St. Francis that survived after the Eaton fire decimated Pasadena Waldorf School in Altadena, California.Photo:Blair Manzke

Blair Manzke

The statue remained intact even as the rocks that surrounded it cracked during the fire, which destroyed the school’s Paquita Lick Machris Campus.

“I do think there is a spiritual significance,” 5th grade teacher Blair Manzke tells PEOPLE. “I do find it’s the symbol of hope, the symbol of that something sustained that lives on that was a part of us, and the symbol of peace.”

“I remember leveling the dirt in the garden in front of the classroom and placing him there,” Loeser tells PEOPLE. “When I put him there, I addressed him and I said, ‘There are children here who called this home who need your help to feel safe. This is still their home. We need you.’ “

The statue’s survival prompted thoughts about the famous Prayer of St. Francis, which moved the school’s faculty. “I don’t want to come off as too religious,” says Manzke, “but yeah, ‘Where there’s darkness, let me bring light,’ and ‘Where there’s sadness, let me bring joy.’ ”

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“If you look at him, there’s such a serenity in that mass of ash and broken dreams and tremendous loss,” she adds. “It’s like loss and hope. So yes, I do consider it a spiritual symbol.”

The St. Francis statue serves as a glimmer of hope amid the many challenges that now face the school, which was founded in 1979 and serves about 250 kids, ranging in age from preschool students to high schoolers.

In addition to the destruction of one of its campuses, which served kindergarteners as well as students in grades 1-8, is now destroyed, several school staffers along with families of the students also lost their homes in the Eaton fire.

“It was heart-wrenching for all of us,” Manzke says, “I mean, to have it just go so quickly.”

Firefighters battle the Eaton Fire on January 8, 2025 in Altadena, California.David McNew/Getty

David McNew/Getty

As the school looks towards rebuilding, and finding different venues to host classes, aGoFundMehas been launched to help the process — and as of Tuesday, Jan. 21, over $213,000 has been raised.

“There’s a tranquility to St. Francis that we all need right now,” adds Manzke.

Click hereto learn more about how to help the victims of the L.A. fires.

source: people.com