When I was a long-haired 19-year-old I visited Paris, France, for ten days while in Europe. I was on my own and ended up staying in a hostel for Asian and African students, many of whom were Muslim. This was my first encounter with Muslims and they were kind and hospitable.
I rambled around the city and visited Notre Dame Cathedral, the 850-year-old masterpiece of Gothic architecture along the Seine. I saw the magnificent Rose Windows one day and went back to an evening concert on another. Notre Dame is of a remarkable style of church building which invited awe and wonder from those who entered, most of whom would have never seen another building which was more than two storeys in height. Gothic and Renaissance cathedrals could take hundreds of years to complete and employed generations of craftspeople to complete the work.
My most recent and probably final trip to the cathedral was fifteen years ago and I stayed in a grotty little hotel across the river called the Esmeralda, another character in Hugo's story.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939) Charles Laughton as Quasimodo
There is also the classic novel Notre Dame de Paris (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) written by Victor Hugo nearly 200 years ago. Quasimodo, the hunchback, lurks on the ramparts of the cathedral and in our imaginations. This novel actually led to a 19th century renovation of the church which was in a miserable state of disrepair.
What a sad development yesterday when Our Lady of Paris caught fire and was quickly consumed by flames feeding on the timber-frame superstructure. While the walls are stone, the roof beams were 12th century oak beams. The fire has been extinguished but it's too early to know whether what remains can be saved. Already hundreds of billions of euros have been committed to rebuild. Someone in the States tweeted her hope that there will be the same enthusiasm for reconstructing church buildings of Black congregations recently torched by a young white supremacist.
Crowd sings Ave Maria
I was moved to see crowds watching the conflagration singing religious music, a testimony to the truth that God can be worshiped anywhere people of faith gather. Notre Dame is a magnificent structure which may rise from the ashes. Whatever happens the solemn and good news of Christ Crucified and Risen will be proclaimed in the coming days.
The Sanctuary at the Dawn of a New Day
2 comments:
Such a sad and shocking event. My wife and I leave for Paris in two weeks, and although we've gone inside Notre Dame a few times, we had never gone to the top. The lineups had always been very long and seemed to not be moving at all.
It must have been interesting, David, when you were there at the age of 19. Had they completed the church by then?
It was still under construction, Roger, and I was delighted to actually meet Quasimodo...cheeky bu...
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