Just days after news came out that the federal government had warned Saint Francis Health Systems that one of its hospitals could lose accreditation over a candle in the chapel, the situation has been resolved.

According to a statement, Oklahoma’s entire congressional delegation stepped in, including Senators James Lankford and Markwayne Mullin, Representatives Kevin Hern, Tom Cole, Frank Lucas, Stephanie Bice and Josh Brecheen.

“CMS inexplicably threatened to revoke Saint Francis Hospital’s accreditation because of a religious eternal flame, which is unrelated to healthcare. St. Francis is a Catholic hospital seeking to serve all who need care in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This was a violation of religious freedom—a bedrock of our nation’s founding. Our Oklahoma Delegation immediately worked to stop this injustice and was thankfully successful. The sight of an eternal flame is to give hope—we will not allow any federal agency to extinguish Oklahomans’ right to exercise their freedom of religion—especially in a time of need. We’ll now get to work to ensure this doesn’t happen anywhere or to anyone else.”

The lawmakers said they successfully stopped the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, a division of Health and Human Services, from taking any action against Saint Francis over alleged safety concerns regarding the eternal flame. They did not explain how this was accomplished.

Senator James Lankford sent the following tweet:

“The sight of an eternal flame is to give hope—we will not allow any federal agency to extinguish Oklahomans’ right to exercise their freedom of religion—especially in a time of need.” -Sen. James Lankford

Representative Josh Brecheen also tweeted after the issue was resolved.

“This was a violation of religious freedom—a bedrock of our nation’s founding. Our Oklahoma Delegation immediately worked to stop this injustice and was thankfully successful.” Rep. Josh Brecheen

A firm representing Saint Francis provided this letter from CMS explaining that a waiver had been granted. According to the letter, Saint Francis must take steps to mitigate fire risks like posting a sign in the chapel warning people with oxygen tanks to not get too close. They even said a rope could be installed around the area.

This all stemmed from an inspection that deemed the living flame, a religious symbol in the Catholic hospital’s chapel, unsafe.

KRMG found out the same inspector had no issue with the flame in multiple previous inspections.

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