By JOHN J. METZLER
Despite the terrible fire which collapsed the roof and destroyed large parts of the fabled Gothic cathedral, despite the collapse of its iconic spire in the midst of the inferno, and despite the near apocalyptic pyre which engulfed the medieval church, Notre Dame de Paris still stands as a stunningly beautiful testament to Civilization and Culture and to Christianity.
The world watched and wept as the media covered the conflagration as almost surrealistic images of the beloved medieval cathedral poured forth with billows of smoke and flame. Can this happen? Is it true? Memories of September 11 darted through the embers to the melancholic soundtrack of fire brigade sirens, as the dry wooden roof exploded into the dusk.
This writer was stunned and saddened to see this tragedy unfold on TV; only later did the depth of the event really process. Yes, it happened. This was real.
Notre Dame de Paris was the first European cathedral I visited as a child: this grand Gothic structure on its island surrounded by the Seine River and standing as a beautiful and enduring symbol of Paris and France. The pole star of Paris, the beating heart of France, the sanctuary of the Spirit. The great French author Victor Hugo called it a “vast symphony in stone.”
I’ve visited many of the great cathedrals of France: Rheims, Chartres, Bourges, but Notre Dame stands in Paris and none stand above her. Over the years I have been privileged to see and visit this landmark many times.
French President Emmanuel Macron pledged, “We will rebuild this Cathedral all together.” He stated, “Our history, our literature, our imagination….We will rebuild it because it is what the French people expect, because it is what our history demands. Because it is our profound destiny.” Bravo!
Notre Dame Cathedral is viewed as the premier example of French Gothic architecture. Construction of the church began in 1163 and continued for over a century. For over 850 years, Notre Dame, as a product of the medieval imagination, piety, and genius, has witnessed the tides of history as the Seine flows around her.
Magnificent stained-glass windows, with their refinements of light, color, and stories of the saints, have largely been saved. Henry Adams, the notable nineteenth-century American author and chronicler of French cathedrals, wrote about Notre Dame, “Like all great churches, that are not mere storehouses of theology.” He spoke of the architectural flying buttresses supporting the structure, the stained-glass windows, the grotesque gargoyles leering over the sides, and of course the sacred interiors.
Notre Dame remains a sacred symbol in a profoundly secular France. It represents cultural and historic patrimony as much as sacred structure. UNESCO Director Audrey Azoulay stated, “Notre Dame represents a historically, architecturally, and spiritually outstanding universal heritage. It is also a monument of literary heritage, a place that is unique in our collective imagination. Heritage of the French but also of humanity as a whole.”
Bishop Matthieu Rougé of Nanterre outside of Paris conceded, “I think France may be one of the least religious countries in the world.”
Notre Dame is more than a church; it is a symbol. Its bells signaled the history of Paris and indeed of France. During the French Revolution after 1789, the cathedral was desecrated and defaced; Victor Hugo wrote his iconic 1831 novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame to help revive interest in the deteriorating cathedral, General Charles de Gaulle visited Notre Dame upon the Liberation of Paris from the Nazis in 1944, its iconic bells tolling freedom’s rebirth.
During the recent inferno, Notre Dame’s flames were extinguished by the tears of the Parisians and the bravery of the Paris Fire Brigade. Fr. Jean-Marc Fournier, brigade chaplain, ran into the burning cathedral to save priceless relics, such as the Crown of Thorns, believed to have been worn by Jesus at the crucifixion, and the tunic of St. Louis, the French Crusader King.
The main altar with the Pietà and the Cross survived, too, amid the collapsed roof.
Massive donations from the French business community and throughout the world have been pledged for the rebuilding. President Macron wants to see the job completed in five years, but this appears optimistic, given the challenge of rebuilding the steep vaulted roof and reinforcing the long-crumbling structure.
Macron’s call for artistically creative reconstruction? No thanks! The original was just fine.
Notre Dame has suffered and has been damaged, but after 850 years, this masterpiece of architecture and hope endures.
France mourns, the world weeps, but Notre Dame still stands!
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(John J. Metzler is a United Nations correspondent covering diplomatic and defense issues.
He is the author of Divided Dynamism: The Diplomacy of Separated Nations: Germany, Korea, China.)
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