A fire went ablaze and ravaged Chicago’s Holy Name Cathedral, which is one of the city’s landmarks and also the seat of Roman Catholic Cardinal Francis George.

Firefighters informed that the fire had broken out somewhere in the attic area and that it had been necessary for crews to spend hours trying to put it out.

Fortunately, according to Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford as quoted by the Associated Press, the fire has not spread to the church’s sanctuary.

Nevertheless, he also said that at the time the flames started shooting through the church’s roof, a few nuns and priests had been inside, yet no one was hurt in the incident.

Chicago officials revealed that they reckoned that repairs the building had been undergoing had been the cause for the fire at the 134-year-old cathedral.

Currently, the extent of the damage done is being looked into, while Chicago Archdiocese Chancellor Jimmy Lago said that in his opinion, the aftermaths of the blaze were awful.

Holy Name Cathedral, which is the is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, was first destroyed in a fire back in October, 1871, whereas the new church was built four years after that in the Gothic revival style.

In October 1979, Pope John Paul II became the first pontiff to pray at Holy Name Cathedral, during a visit to Chicago which was accompanied  by a concert featuring the late Luciano Pavarotti and Chicago Symphony Orchestra.