Notre-Dame cathedral Paris is on fire

Status
Not open for further replies.
tafan2 said:
Yea, I noticed. But of course we all need to remember that is up to us, we are The Church. Catholics around the world need to support the project. We can’t assume the Church has a pool of hundreds of millions of dollars sitting around that can be used for this project, it doesn’t.
Click to expand...
‘The Vatican’s economy minister has said hundreds of millions of euros were found “tucked away” in accounts of various Holy See departments without having appeared in the city-state’s balance sheets.’ Vatican finds hundreds of millions of euros 'tucked away': cardinal | Reuters
 
According to the photo just shown on BFMTV, the North Rose Window appears to be intact.
 
An artist’s rendering of Henry VI’s French coronation at Notre Dame in 1431 (artist unknown)

(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

"The Coronation of Napoleon" (1807) by Jacques-Louis David, depicting the coronation of Napoleon I at Notre Dame in 1804.

(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

Anti-aircraft artillery in front of the cathedral during the Liberation of Paris, 1944.

(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

A photo taken of a flaming vehicle circa Aug. 23, 1944, close to the Pont Saint-Michel and Notre Dame Cathedral during the Battle of Paris, a few days before the city’s liberation on Aug. 25, 1944.

(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

US soldiers fill the pews of Notre Dame Cathedral during the GI memorial service for US President Franklin D. Roosevelt on April 16, 1945.

(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

Philippe Petit, a 21-year-old professional tightrope walker, perches 225 feet above the ground between the cathedral’s two towers on June 26, 1971.

(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)
 
A firefighter was seriously injured. I hope they’ll make a full recovery. They saved most of the building, hopefully not losing someone for it.
 
CNN is reporting that all three of the rose windows survived, according to the Archbishop.

Art removed is being sent to the Louvre.

@UpUpandAway, feel free to post the donation sites. Some of us read French okay.

Considering the amount of stuff that survived this fire, I’m not really getting people who are all like “oh it won’t be the same” or insisting that the French will be leaving the building as a ruined shell. Seems like a lot of pessimism out there. I blame the media for some of it given that all the reports yesterday during the fire were that the place would burn to the absolute ground. Some of the reporters and others seem a bit disappointed with anything less than the whole church ending as a flat pile of rubble.
 
Last edited:
Good news about the rose windows. I only had news about the north one. :+1:t3:

The rescued relics were removed to an undisclosed location (assistant mayor of Paris via BFMTV).

Frankly, Notre-Dame has been through a lot since it was originally built, as one would expect from any structure as old as this one. It has repeatedly gone through periods of near ruin and subsequent restoration. It has been defaced numerous times, including the beheading of the statues of biblical kings on the west façade, and its contents pillaged again and again. For a time following the French Revolution, it didn’t even function as a house of worship as the revolutionaries decided the space would best be used to store food and other supplies. So I agree. Not “the same” as what? Notre-Dame has never been “the same.”

As to simply allowing it to remain in ruin, no chance. This is the most visited monument in Paris. The government makes too much money from its existence to let it just fade away.
Okay, while I wait for the government to announce the “official” donation appeal (which will be international in scope) these are the national (France-wide) donation sites I know of and would trust.

Fondation Notre-Dame (Archdiocese of Paris; French only)
https://don.fondationnotredame.fr/fapp-notre-dame
This site was actually set up to solicit funding for the planned restoration work. The online donation form is entirely in French, but it includes a field for “Country” (« Pays ») so foreign donors can use it. Donations are made in euros (€) via credit card.

Fondation du Patrimoine (private organization; French and English [sort of]; requires registration):
https://www.fondation-patrimoine.org/les-projets/sauvons-notre-dame-de-paris
Earmarked specifically for the April 15th fire
Online form entirely in French. I don’t know if people outside France can use this form because I would have to register to find out.
And a couple in the US:

French Heritage Society (private organization based in New York; English):
link posted by @Clare above
Earmarked specifically for the April 15th fire

Friends of Notre-Dame de Paris (created by the Archdiocese of Paris as an American organization based in New York to facilitate donations from the US; English):
http://www.notredamedeparis.fr/friends/DONATE/
 
Last edited:
In that case, you should have clarified what you meant the first time instead of throwing random questions about people’s faith.
 
I’m hoping that the Holy Father will ask for an extra collection to go towards the rebuilding/restoration efforts.
 
KS_Housewife said:
It is likely the fire is due to a construction mishap. The cathedral has been undergoing renovations.

A historic building near us burned spectaculary down to the ground several years ago. The building was undergoing renovations and all it took, on that dry, windy, sunny day was one spark to set the whole building ablaze very quickly.

The irony of this taking place during Holy Week and the introspection this disaster fosters does not require a terrorist plot.
Click to expand...
Just last week a historic building in Ottawa’s By-Ward Market was also extensively damaged by fire. That one too was undergoing repairs to the roof and a mishap occurred.

 
bassmansteiny said:
I’m hoping that the Holy Father will ask for an extra collection to go towards the rebuilding/restoration efforts.
Click to expand...
Very wealthy French citizens have already committed several hundred million dollars to its restoration and France has committed 50 million. The Church does not own the building, the government of France does.
 
The chief prosecutor of Paris, whose office is in charge of the investigation, has reiterated that at this time there is no evidence the fire was a criminal act. For now, the investigation proceeds under the assumption it was an accident. (via BFMTV about three hours ago)
 
Two of the wealthiest families in France, the Pinaults and the Arnaults, have pledged 300 million euros between them.

François-Henri Pinault is the CEO of luxury brands conglomerate Kering SA (Gucci, Bottega Veneta, Yves Saint-Laurent, Alexander McQueen, etc.) and president of holding company Groupe Artémis (Christie’s auction house, Château Latour winery, Stade Rennais FC professional soccer/football club, etc.).

Bernard Arnault is the CEO of luxury brands conglomerate LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE.
 
Last edited:
It’s the law. All religious edifices in France that were built before 1905 are considered part of France’s cultural patrimony (heritage) and are owned by the state. It has its advantages and disadvantages. An example of the advantages: one of my parish’s three churches predates the Reformation. When time came to restore it, the city footed the entire bill. A few years later the city council decided to modernize its lighting system (halogen and incandescent to LED), and it paid for that in full as well.

Catholic churches built since 1905 belong to the diocese when they are located. One of the parish’s other churches is 40 years old and in desperate need of renovation. We managed to raise funds to fix the roof. The other needed work remains undone because we just don’t have the money for it.
 
Last edited:
Not that I know of. They own it and it’s theirs to do with as they see fit.
 
All this discussion highlights that the burning of the Cathedral mirrors the apostasy and secularization of Europe.
There’s something about that, seen through what I imagine to be God’s eyes, that ought to strike some fear.
 
Last edited:
While there are old churches that the state has abandoned, and I agree it’s upsetting when that happens, the majority are functional and maintained to some extent or another. Even the tiny village church where we have our vacation home is in good repair despite the fact that it’s only used for weddings and funerals. The parish church is five miles away in a larger municipality.

The government allows the Church to function in Notre-Dame and has shown no signs of revoking that permission. Due to the number of tourists it attracts, it has no interest in refusing to repair or maintain the cathedral.
 
Last edited:
Shakespeare & Company is on the rue de la Bûcherie on the opposite bank of the Seine and one street over from the quai de Montebello, which runs along the Seine on that side of the river. From that distance, even minor damage is extremely unlikely.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top