Qld church escapes bolt from above

A bolt from above has set fire to a church in country Queensland but the parish priest says it has miraculously escaped serious damage.

Father Franco Filipetto says quick-thinking residents saved the church after seeing a lightning bolt hit St Mary's Catholic Parish at Warwick, on the Darling Downs, during a Monday afternoon storm.

"There was smoke coming from the roof, some people called the fire brigade and they responded very quickly and the fire did not take hold," Father Franco told ABC radio on Tuesday.

He said damage to the ceiling had been confined to about one square metre, but there was some water damage inside the church.

"It did cause us a great fright," he said, adding that he hoped the church could resume normal operations within a day or so.