Prayers Going Up!
Drawing by Albrecht Dürer
Yes! Your Two Chums are certainly offering prayers for Notre Dame and Paris in general.
According to USA Today, “More than $700 million in committed donations poured in Tuesday to rebuild the damaged portions of the cathedral with major help from some of the richest families in France.
It came amid a sigh of relief after fears that the building might burn to the ground were assuaged and many historic artifacts, initially assumed to be destroyed, were found salvaged.
French President Emmanuel Macron, in a televised address to the nation Tuesday evening, made a call to unity and to set aside political differences in the coming days to work to rebuild the cathedral.
Throughout French history, he said, towns, forts and churches have burned from revolutions, wars or mankind, “and each time we have rebuilt.”
“We are rebuilders,” he said. “There’s a great deal to be rebuilt. And we will make the cathedral of Notre Dame even more beautiful. We can do this and we will mobilize everybody.
“I share your sorrow and I also share your hope. Now we have something to do. We will act and react. And we will succeed.”
Here are some very interesting facts about the amazing structure.
Why was Notre Dame cathedral built?
Maurice de Sully, who became bishop of Paris in 1160, wanted to reconstruct the site where Notre Dame sits, which had been a Romanesque church and pagan temple.
Paris was becoming a political, economic and intellectual center in Europe around that time, and de Sully wanted to mark its progress, according to Notre Dame’s website.
The cathedral’s towers are more than 220 feet tall and the building is more than 400 feet long, according to Notre Dame’s website. It’s almost 52,000 square feet.
It was looted during the French Revolution
The cathedral was looted and damaged during the French Revolution, which was in part fueled by resentment against the Catholic Church and the rise of Enlightenment thinking.
According to the Napoleon Foundation, the cathedral was renamed “Temple to the Goddess Reason” and at one point served as a storage place for wine.
When France and the Catholic Church reconciled in 1801, the cathedral was returned to the church. Napoleon later used it during his coronation, according to the Foundation.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Victor Hugo’s novel “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” published in 1831, centers on Quasimodo, the cathedral’s bell-ringer, and Esmeralda, a kind and beautiful street dancer.
The novel has been adapted into a number of films, including the popular animated Disney version “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” in 1996.
It was home to relics tied to the Passion of Jesus
The cathedral’s “most precious and most revered object” is the Crown of Thorns, according to France’s tourism website. Before Jesus was crucified, Roman soldiers mocked him and stuck a crown made of thorns on his head. However, around the world, others claim to have portions of the crown or single thorns.
Other important relics in the cathedral include a fragment of the True Cross, believed to be part of the cross on which Jesus was crucified, and one of the Holy Nails, believed to be used in the crucifixion.
In addition to religious relics, masterpiece artworks and sculptures, stained-glass windows and three organs are also housed at Notre Dame, its website says.
Salvage efforts had been underway to recover precious artifacts, and city prosecutors announced they were opening an investigation.
“A special mission has been launched to try to save all works of art that can be saved,” Emmanuel Grégoire, first deputy to the mayor of Paris, said on French TV.
There’s a bee hive on its roof – and it’s not there by accident
Notre Dame’s roof became home to a hive of bees in 2013, according to the cathedral’s website.
The hive was placed as part of a larger effort to protect biodiversity and prevent bee die-off.”
Certainly, the world is grieving this horrible occurrence but rebuilt they will!
In solemn devotion,
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