Tropical storm Leslie tore a strip off the roof of St. Teresa's Church, with the number spiralling for estimated repairs — up to $60,000.

But the first step before tackling a long-term fix was to make the church useable again.

Chad Mercer, the foreman in charge of repairs, says fixing the roof won't be easy.

St. Teresa's Church

"Quite a job, quite a task — it's too bad," Mercer said.

Mercer says the key job now is to secure the roof so nothing is flying around, and no one gets hurt.

Father Tony Bidgood says plans are in the works to fix the damage.

"We're now looking at a more permanent repair, so there [are] repairs that are going to happen temporarily, and then we're going to be talking to the people involved ... contractors and insurance companies and things like that about restoring the roof [to the way it was] prior to Leslie," Bidgood said.

St. Teresa's is located on Mundy Pond Road in St. John's.

Despite the damage, the church was able to open its doors for 7 p.m. mass Wednesday night.