Notre Dame is re-opening next week and we have our first view of how the renovation looks from the inside.
They cleaned off all the smoke damage along with the accumlated grime of eight centures.
It’s light! And bright! If you ever visited the cathedral before the awful fire in 2019 you will remember it as grand and majestic and very dark. After the renovation it’s like a sparkling, crystal palace. In addition to the fire damage, centuries of guttering candles and heavy-breathing parishioners took it’s toll on the white marble – not to mention the period during the Revolution when the building was used as a munitions dump. The cathedral survived that anti-religious era, and even miraculously came out unscathed from World War II. Hitler was furious that he was losing the war and ordered the destruction of Paris. The German general in question heroically ignored the order and Paris, as well as Notre Dame, was saved.
Carefully restored saints.
Now Notre Dame is back. President Macron and his wife toured the immaculately rebuilt building and then invited all the construction workers, architects, artisans, art restorers, farmers, carpenters, loggers, fire-proofers, and administrators who worked on the project together to the center of the building (which for the moment has no pews) and thanked them for doing such a wonderful job. I’m not a very sentimental person but I admit I got a little teary-eyed.
I watched a CNN anchor questioning one of the fund-raisers for the project. He said, ”You raised much more money than was needed. There was no hint of scandal, no embezzlement, the project came in on time, and on budget. What on earth went right?”
In these days of corruption and sleaze it is so refreshing to see that we can get together and do an amazing project with dedication and incredible skill.
You don’t have to be religious to appreciate Notre Dame. It’s not a miracle. It’s what we humans can do when we decide to do it. Lmc
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