St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Lyndonville has been there since 1917.
On Tuesday morning, maintenance supervisor Gary Daum got a call around 4:30 that it was on fire.
"You can see the damage from the water," Daum said. "Certainly a devastating fire."
The majority of the smoke and water damage can be found in the back of the building.
The Catholic Diocese of Buffalo tells us they suspect a wall heater may have started the fire.
The fire destroyed what used to be a religious education classroom, an altar as well as a kitchen in the basement.
For more than a century, St. Joseph's has been a critical part of the Lyndonville community.
"Each church brings something to you when you go there but I'm most comfortable week to week here at St. Joe's. It's just right for us. And many others do as well," Daum said.
Now parishioners are trying to make sense of it all.
"I've had many calls today. A lady said I finally had the nerve to settle down and give you a call. And she said I knew about it a long time. I just couldn't deal with it," Daum said.
There is hope for St. Joe's.
The Diocese of Buffalo says there was no damage to the roof and they plan to restore the church.
"We've got the original blueprints of the building of this building that are ready to be handed over," Daum said.
A restoration company out of Rochester is surveying the area and boarding it up.
Daum says he doesn't know when this church will reopen but adds multiple churches nearby are offering their spaces for mass instead.