Police seek identity of mystery man over St Mary’s Church, Avondale blaze

Police have released images of a man they want to speak after a suspicious fire left a West Auckland church “severely damaged”.

Emergency services responded to St Mary’s Church on Great North Rd in Avondale shortly after 4am on Monday.

Catholic priest Father Andrew Matthew told the Herald he woke to popping sounds of exploding windows.

“When I looked out the window all I could see was a sea of red flames. It’s a real shock,” he said.

Today police released images of a man wearing a black beanie and a dark long-sleeve jumper with distinctive orange patterns on it.

He is carrying a green shopping bag.

Police have released CCTV images of a man they wish to speak to about a church fire in West Auckland. Photo / NZ Police

“Police would like to speak with this man,” said a spokesperson.

Police urged anyone who knew the man to call 105, using the reference number 250714/2083.

Information could also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

At the peak of the blaze, eight fire trucks were on the scene.

The fire gutted the Avondale church. Photo / Andrew Matthew.

On Monday, Detective Senior Sergeant Rebecca Kirk, of Auckland City Crime Squad, said investigations were in the “very early stages”.

Auckland Catholic Diocese general manager James van Schie, also at the church in the hours after the fire, said the parish was established in 1921 and the church built in the late 1950s.

“For over 100 years, it’s been a vital part of the fabric of the Avondale community,” he said.

“There are so many Aucklanders who trace their family history here; baptisms, funerals, weddings. It is a vibrant parish.”

Firefighters at the scene of the blaze at St Mary’s Catholic Church on Great North Rd in Avondale. Photo / Hayden Woodward

More to come.