Notre Dame Cathedral Fire

[jo]

Shocking news re the fire that engulfed a large part of this historical and monumental world heritage symbol of Paris! The Eiffel Tower is an engineering feat … but the Notre Dame carries with it years and years of history! Where it is located is Kilometer Zero - the central most part of Paris! And maybe the whole of France?

Couldn't help but feel so saddened at the news!

Hope they can rebuild ( to some extent) the structure that was so cruelly damaged by fire!

Hope the religious and artistic treasures in Notre Dame have also been saved!


edition.cnn.com/world/live-news/notre-dame-fire/index.html

[jo]

[jo]

The CNN coverage --

What we're covering here
What happened: A massive blaze at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris has devastated large parts of the 850-year-old church. The iconic spire has fallen, and while the flames have been extinguished, it took 400 firefighters to bring the fire under control.
About the cathedral: Built in the 13th century, the medieval structure is considered a feat of architecture as much as a religious symbol. It is one of Paris' most popular attractions, drawing an estimated 13 million visitors a year.
Share your memories: Do you have personal memories of visiting Notre Dame? Tell us what the cathedral means to you here.

1 hr 57 min ago
French President Emmanuel Macron: "We will rebuild this cathedral together"
From CNN's Martin Goillandeau

AFP TV
French President Emmanuel Macron just announced that, starting Tuesday, he will launch an international fundraising campaign to rebuild the Notre Dame Cathedral.

Macron, speaking from the scene, described the fire as a “terrible tragedy," but added the “worst had been avoided." He noted that the cathedral's facade and two main towers did not collapse during the fire.

“I’m telling you all tonight — we will rebuild this cathedral together. This is probably part of the French destiny. And we will do it in the next years. Starting tomorrow, a national donation scheme will be started that will extend beyond our borders," Macron said.

Watch Macron's statement below:

2 hr 12 min ago
Mass was being celebrated at the cathedral when the fire broke out, attendee says

French-American François-Xavier Lochet, 70, was attending Mass at Notre Dame Cathedral on Monday when a loud alarm went off just as the congregation began the Universal Prayer -- it was so loud Lochet could barely understand the messages in French and English.

Most of those who heard it, however, just stood there as visitors began to be ushered out of the cathedral. That was until, Lochet said, a police officer approached a priest and told him, "This is no joke. You've got to get out."
Lochet began walking back to his mother's home when he turned around and saw smoke.

"Nobody was paying attention," he said. "I stopped and I took my phone out and I waited."
Soon, smoke began billowing out from the cathedral.

"To me. I felt like crying," he said. "This is my most favorite church probably in the world. To me, as a kid, I climbed the towers when I was 12 years old."

He could not help but think about the countless craftsmen who devoted their entire lives to constructing the church, even those who helped renovate it. He'd often go to Mass, or just to listen to the cathedral's organs.

"It's a huge piece of history of Europe," he said. "Gone."

He took this photo of the early flames. That spire, and much of the roof on which it sat, would later fall:

2 hr 34 min ago
A growing crowd of mourners are singing hymns and praying outside Notre Dame
From CNN's Saskya Vandoorne

ERIC FEFERBERG / AFP/GETTY IMAGES
It's past 11 p.m. in Paris, but the crowds of Notre Dame mourners haven't gone anywhere -- many are still gathered outside the cathedral, praying and singing hymns.

Some are on their knees; at one point, a group broke out in a haunting rendition of the "Ave Maria."

They have been singing for almost two hours now, and the hymns are getting louder as more people join in.
Watch the scene here:


Play Video

2 hr 40 min ago
Here's why Notre Dame Cathedral is so important to Catholics worldwide
From CNN's Daniel Burke

FRANCOIS GUILLOT/AFP/Getty Images

This week is Holy Week, when millions of Western Christians mark the death and resurrection of Jesus. Under normal circumstances, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris would have been preparing to display its holy relics to the faithful on Good Friday.

But as fire engulfed the sacred site on Monday, Catholics across the world reacted in horror and disbelief, particularly when the cathedral's iconic spire toppled amid the flames.

For generations, Notre Dame has been a place of pilgrimage and prayer, and, even as religion in France has declined for decades, it remained the beating heart of French Catholicism, open every day for Mass.

About the cathedral: Notre Dame is not a parish church, meaning that it does not have a regular body of worshippers who "belong" to the church. But it is still the home church of Paris Archbishop Michel Aupetit, and draws Catholics for vespers (evening prayers), Masses and the Sacrament of Reconciliation, also known as Penance.

And every year during Holy Week, Notre Dame unveils some of the most coveted relics in Christendom. Among them is the Holy Crown, believed by many to be from the crown of thorns placed on the head of Jesus. Catholics have prayed with the Holy Crown for more than 16 centuries, according to the cathedral.

Notre Dame counts among its treasures two other relics connected to Holy Week: a fragment of the Wood of the Cross, believed by many to be a part of the "true cross" on which Jesus was crucified; and one of the nails that the Romans used to crucify Jesus.

3 hr 40 min ago
UN chief: "Horrified by the pictures coming from Paris"

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he is "horrified" to see the images coming out of Paris.
"Horrified by the pictures coming from Paris with the fire engulfing Notre Dame Cathedral — a unique example of world heritage that has stood tall since the 14th century," Guterres said in a tweet. "My thoughts are with the people and government of France."

[jo]

Translated from French by
Microsoft
Of course, no one to remember that Notre Dame de Paris is first and foremost the setting of the opening sequence of Van Helsing (2004), where Hugh Jackman, Vampire Hunter paid by the Vatican, is chasing Mr. Hyde on the square. Revise your classics, Stéphane Bern!



Van Helsing is mentioned as among 7 films with iconic scenes at the Notre Dame --

www.foxnews.com/entertainment/notre-dame-cathedrals-most-iconic-moments-in-film

[jo]

Historically, Notre Dame has been associated with historical, religious, and cultural events.

www.thenational.ae/arts-culture/film/notre-dame-cathedral-in-popular-culture-the-parisian-landmark-is-so-much-more-than-just-a-building-1.849739


One such fictional event was where Javert was supposed to have ended his life in Les Miserables. It has been debated whether he jumped off Pont du Change or simply from the embankment on the river, but in either case it was supposed to have happened under the looming shadow of the Notre Dame.



You may not have entered its premises, but the comforting and of course magnificent presence of OUR LADY ( Notre Dame) marks many strolls around the Parisian capital. It is hard not to notice it, being such a tall and beautiful structure located on Km Zero and right in the middle of the River Seine on the Ile de la Cite.


The fund-raising has started -- hope we can see it fully restored in not too many years.

Jo

[njr]

So sad to see it burn! 😢

On the TV show Highlander, the main character, Duncan MacLeod, lived in a barge that was moored on the Seine right near Notre Dame Cathedral.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highlander:_The_Series

Adrian Paul, who played Duncan MacLeod, wrote on Twitter:

Nancy