Last Saturday the Notre-Dame Cathedral opened up to the public after burning in 2019. It took five years to rebuild and this would be the 4rth time Notre-Dame has been destroyed. The Notre-Dame Cathedral is located in Paris France and was built in 1163 and is a catholic church with some very rich history. On Saturday 12/7 Notre-Dame had its first mass in 5 years. Many political and religious leaders along with the public attended this mass. The reopening of the Notre-Dame is a major success for the French church.
The Notre-Dame Cathedral is a catholic church and has been in use for centuries. Multiple architects can be recognised for the creation of Notre-Dame including Jean de Chelles, Pierre de Montreuil, and ect. The Notre-Dame was built on the ruins of two ruins preceding the age of Notre-Dame. The Notre-Dame was dedicated to the virgin mary and was built around the 12th century. The Notre-Dame has stood through many wars and historical events and has survived being burnt multiple times. The cathedral has breathtaking stained glass windows and astonishing stone carving and soaring spires. In 2019 the cathedral faced a tragic fire because of either an electrical short circuit or damaged electrical cable in use during restoration efforts taking place at the time. The main damages were the roof and the iconic spire.
There was a lot of effort and many contributions that went into the reconstruction of the Notre-Dame cathedral. The rebuilding of the cathedral was extremely expensive and nearly $900 million was raised through donations from 340,000 donors in 150 countries. In the end they had money to spare because it cost $740 million to rebuild. It took over 2,000 architects, historians, and skilled trade workers to reconstruct. This was mainly because of the precision needed to reproject the fine carvings on the cathedral walls. Almost everything rebuilt during this project required laborious, detailed, and delicate work done by the original artists behind this historic structure. The reconstruction of the Notre-Dame Cathedral truly shows the resilience of the French people and their love for their culture.
On Saturday 12/7 the Notre-Dame has its first mass open to the public in 5 years. Many people decided to attend this mass including political and religious leaders along with tourists and french citizens. Cardinal Timothy Dolan attended the mass and he said he was grateful to participate in the first Mass in the cathedral and highlighted the generosity of the many Americans who contributed to the restoration of the emblematic cathedral. According to me, it was a very welcoming and almost magical experience that this national treasure could be used for its original purpose once again. The mass was led by bishop Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris who is a french prelate of the catholic church. Bishop Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris has been leading sermons in France since 2000.
To conclude, the reconstruction of Notre-dame was a miracle and should be treated as one. Many people contributed to the rebuilding of this national treasure and now it can continue to hold more masses for many years to come. This monument has stood through rain and snow and it is a blessing that it is still with us.
