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, according to sources. Courtesy Photo.
PARIS — A massive fire engulfed the upper reaches of Paris’ soaring Notre Dame Cathedral as it was undergoing renovations Monday, threatening one of the greatest architectural treasures of the Western world as tourists and Parisians looked on aghast from the streets below.
The blaze collapsed the cathedral’s spire and spread to one of its landmark rectangular towers, but Paris fire chief Jean-Claude Gallet said the church’s structure had been saved after firefighters managed to stop the fire spreading to the northern belfry.
Uganda Christians using social media joined their counterparts around the world mourning the blaze which ravaged the iconic Gothic cathedral.
The 12th-century cathedral is home to incalculable works of art and is one of the world’s most famous tourist attractions, immortalized by Victor Hugo’s 1831 novel “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.”
The exact cause of the blaze was not known, but French media quoted the Paris fire brigade as saying the fire is “potentially linked” to a 6 million-euro ($6.8 million) renovation project on the church’s spire and its 250 tons of lead. The Paris prosecutors’ office ruled out arson and possible terror-related motives, and said it was treating it as an accident.
President Donald Trump, speaking at an appearance in Minnesota, spoke of the “terrible, terrible fire” that devastated “one of the great treasures of the world.”
“It’s a part of our growing up, it’s a part of our culture, it’s a part of our lives,” Trump said of the landmark.
Former President Barack Obama posted an old photo of himself, his wife Michelle and their two daughters lighting candles in the cathedral.
“Notre Dame is one of the world’s great treasures, and we’re thinking of the people of France in your time of grief,” Obama said on Twitter. Michelle Obama, who was in Paris on Monday on a book tour, said “my heart aches with the people of France.”
Japan’s government early Tuesday expressed sympathy and said it would consider sending support to the French government. “Its damage is a loss to the world and our hearts ache,” said Yoshihide Suga, the chief cabinet secretary.
The Vatican said Pope Francis “has seen with shock and sadness the news of the terrible fire.”
In Russia, the Russian Orthodox Church’s secretary for inter-Christian relations Hieromonk Stefan called the fire “a tragedy for the entire Christian world and for all who appreciate the cultural significance of this temple,” the state news agency RIA-Novosti reported.
