Before the fire of April 15, 2019, if you stood in front of Notre Dame de Paris, you couldn’t help but feel in awe of the imposing Gothic cathedral that rises from a small island in the heart of Paris. Now, five years later and just weeks away from its much-awaited official reopening, the feeling is a little different.
Just setting foot on the Île de la Cite that was once home to a fourth-century Christian church dedicated to St. Stephen — and before that, a Gallo-Roman temple built in honor of Jupiter — you are consumed by the weight of recent events, as well as a deeper knowledge of what the impressive edifice has withstood and witnessed since its cornerstone was first laid in 1163.
Surrounded by the River Seine and stunning buildings that are steeped in history, not only has Notre Dame survived the recent fire itself, but also a failed arson attack by Communards in 1871. And nearly a century before, during the 1790s, it resisted revolutionaries who desecrated the cathedral, destroying precious religious imagery — even taking the time to decapitate statues.
However, the cathedral has also marked more positive historical moments in French history, such as the celebratory Mass during the liberation of German-occupied Paris in 1944, and multiple royal and presidential weddings and funerals throughout the centuries. Even more importantly, while Notre Dame stands as a symbol of French fortitude, it is also a prominent beacon of faith for Catholics in France and across the world.
A source of inspiration
Even if you haven’t been to Paris, you’ll no doubt be familiar with the magnificent geometrical west façade of the building, complete with a beautiful rose window and two magnificent towers that remained largely undamaged after the fire.
Notre Dame has appeared in movies, such as “An American in Paris,” “Amélie” and the animated classic “Ratatouille,” and is often depicted in images of the Paris skyline. However, the cathedral’s beauty and religious importance were also instrumental in shaping some of France’s key literary and religious figures.
While Catholic poet and essayist Charles Péguy was particularly influenced by St. Joan of Arc, who came from his hometown of Orléans, he was also deeply drawn to both Notre Dame de Paris and Notre Dame de Chartres. (Chartres is another impressive cathedral that was damaged during World War II but restored to its former glory thanks to generous donations from Americans.)
When the poet’s son was on the brink of death from a mysterious illness, Péguy consecrated him to the Blessed Virgin Mary and vowed to walk from Notre Dame de Paris to Notre Dame de Chartres — a 60-mile journey — if the boy recovered. He did, and Péguy made the pilgrimage — one he would repeat several times throughout his life.
A version of the story — along with other references to Notre Dame de Paris — is woven into Péguy’s book-length poem, “Le Porche du mystere de la deuxième vertu,” translated into English as “The Portal of the Mystery of Hope.” Pope Francis quoted the work in a September 2017 general audience, in which he explained how Péguy’s poem speaks of God’s admiration for the virtue of hope: “He says in a poetic way, that God is not amazed so much by the faith of human beings and not even by their charity — but what really fills him with wonder and moves him — is the hope of the people: ‘That those poor children,’ (Péguy) writes, ‘see how things are going and believe that they will be better tomorrow morning.'”
There are other prominent literary giants who have been impacted by the might of the Gothic structure. Among them is the French poet Paul Claudel who converted to Catholicism thanks to Notre Dame.
On Christmas day, Claudel was at the cathedral listening to vespers. The effect had an astonishing lifetime effect on the then-18-year-old: “In an instant, my heart was touched, and I believed,” he wrote in 1913. From there he used his skills with the written word to share the beauty of God’s creation.
Church and state
So closely, in the French mind, was the cathedral associated with the nation itself that in 1839, when the French Dominican friar Lacordaire ascended its pulpit in the banned habit of the Order of Preachers, it caused a national uproar. Indeed, the act was one of open disobedience to the government, which claimed for itself the right to regulate the Church and had suppressed the Dominicans. Yet the young preacher Lacordaire was such a skilled rhetorician that his sermon, “On the Vocation of the French Nation,” in which he called for the reestablishment of the Dominican Order in France, was received favorably even by an anti-clerical press.
The notable French writer and politician Victor Hugo is also closely associated with Notre Dame. The 19th-century senator wrote the bestsellers “Les Misérables” and “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” However, you might not know the impact of the latter title.
Although poor Quasimodo was confined to Notre Dame’s belltower, he endured it for a very worthy cause. The book, which had widespread success, highlighted the horrific state of the cathedral after it had been left in disrepair from the French revolution. Thanks to this 19th-century awareness campaign, money was raised, and in came the now-famous French architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc.
Architectural surprises
Viollet-le-Duc, a multi-talented architect and prolific writer, was selected to restore Notre Dame in 1845. Over the course of nearly 20 years, he went about making some significant changes, including the addition of the rather grotesque and menacing chimeras (technically speaking, they are not gargoyles, since they serve as a decorative feature and do not have a function, such as water drainage).
However, the ambitious Viollet-le-Duc also added a very personal stamp to his restoration. As part of his design, he surrounded the cathedral’s spire with statues of the Twelve Apostles. While this might seem to be a standard symbolic gesture, if you look closely at the statue of St. Thomas, his fine features bear a striking resemblance to the architect himself!
Furthermore, while all the statues are facing out toward Paris, St. Thomas is turned looking toward the spire, as if admiring his work. Viollet-le-Duc chose his apostle wisely, as St. Thomas is the patron saint of architects.
The rooster and the relics
To continue with his audacious design, the Frenchman added a new spire to the building. It was this same spire that came crashing to the floor during the 2019 fire. However, topping the new spire was a rooster, fulfilling multiple purposes.
Firstly, the rooster, or coq as it is known in French, is the symbol of the Gallic nation. In Latin the word gallus means “Gaul”: a Frenchman. However, it also means rooster. Over time, the rooster became synonymous with bravery and was therefore deemed a worthy emblem to top the cathedral.
However, there is also religious symbolism to take into account. The humble bird is seen as a figure of protection in Christianity thanks to its association with St. Peter and Christ’s prophecy during the Last Supper that is present in the four Gospels. In each of the accounts, the apostle Peter denied knowing Jesus three times before the rooster finally crowed. Therefore, the rooster took its position as an emblem of vigilance.
Roosters, of course, are also used in lots of weathervanes, forewarning inhabitants of inclement weather. Therefore, with the rooster topping the spire, both the cathedral and the city of Paris would seem in safe hands.
Nonetheless, it is believed the architect personally placed a piece of the crown of thorns inside the rooster, adding to the relics from St. Denis and St. Genevieve, the patron saints of Paris, and giving an extra layer of protection to the bird. It was these three same relics that miraculously survived the fall from the 315-foot spire five years ago.
Once retrieved from the rubble, the relics were safeguarded until they could be placed in the new golden rooster that has adorned the cathedral since 2023. However, Paris archbishop Laurent Ulrich added an extra feature to this 21st-century edition — 2,000 names of the people who have helped contribute to Notre Dame’s reconstruction, placed inside a sealed tube.
Stunning revelations
As devastating as the fire was, the destruction led to some stunning revelations, notably the remains of a 13th-century rood screen, a decorative screen that separates the nave from the chancel. The discovery was only made public recently, despite over a thousand fragments being unearthed in 2022. What is astonishing is the level of color and detail that remain on the pieces of sculpture.
The screen had not been in place since the 18th century, so the sight of these religious fragments has come as a surprise. One such fragment from the remains depicts a serene image of Jesus, almost as if he’s been merely sleeping all these years.
The mingling of ancient and modern
The reconstruction of Notre Dame has provided thousands of people with an opportunity to lend their 21st-century know-how to ancient practices. This is due to the desire to restore the cathedral to its former glory by rebuilding Notre Dame in the manner it was constructed all those centuries ago.
Specific oak trees have been painstakingly sourced and treated to recreate the same “forest” in the vaulted roof, using the same tools that would have been used during the cathedral’s construction.
Over a thousand historic oak trees have been felled from all over France and even across Europe to become a new part of the cathedral’s history, each tree providing one beam that could be as long as 100 yards.
The real beauty in the reconstruction, however, comes from the global effort to restore a Catholic monument to Our Lady. Whether it is in the manual skills or technological knowledge or the money raised from donors who might never even set foot in the building, thousands of people have sought to restore the cathedral to its former glory.
An opportunity for evangelization
Providentially, the fire has created a chance to talk about the cathedral, its importance in history and society, and the Faith that inspired it.
Before the fire, Notre Dame welcomed 10 million visitors through its doors each year. Perhaps many weren’t aware of the precious religious treasures it held, such as the crown of thorns. Maybe they weren’t aware how the building has faced battles and stood firm for so many centuries, overshadowing the city and its inhabitants like a sentinel.
Now those entering the building will not just be crossing it off their tourist bucket list. They’ll be seeing it with fresh eyes, with a knowledge of what has happened, appreciating the incredible efforts made by the cathedral’s staff, the providers of emergency services, the restoration team and the donors to ensure that future generations will have Our Lady of Paris watching over them.
The cathedral’s survival upended our modern sense of technological superiority over past ages. The work of medieval stone masons was instrumental in preventing the fire from completely destroying the cathedral, as Jenny Alexander, a professor of art history at the University of Warwick, has pointed out. In this way, the cornerstone that was laid over 850 years ago is a bit like France’s very own St. Peter, an unbreakable rock on which the French Church is built and from which — we can hope and pray — the Faith will again flourish among the Gallic people.
