I watched the official re-opening live for awhile this afternoon, but some of the little documentaries available are really more interesting. Just a few observations:
Notre Dame is a celebration of human skill, patience, and brute-strength labor stretched to their limits--from the painters with teensy little brushes gradually adding paint to a corner of a mural to construction workers dozens of feet in the air pounding shims in place with sledge-hammer-sized mallets to hold up the vaulted ceilings. About 2,000 people from around the world worked to complete the restoration.
Work never really stops on a cathedral. Notre Dame took two centuries to build in its original form. But every generation adds things to the cathedral--murals, stained glass, monuments, an organ, bells, chandeliers, tombs. As old things like the exterior statues and gargoyles wear away, new things replace them. A cathedral is a conversation about the divine from one generation to the next.
The Middle Ages were not gloomy, stolid, and gray. A cathedral is meant to pull in light, not deflect it. Notre Dame's new restored white stone interior and stained glass show that. So do the murals depicting scenes from Scripture, from French history, from the lives of important saints. Everywhere there is vivid color, movement, and joy in our earthly life, even as the spire and towers point us toward life in Heaven.
The completion of Notre Dame brackets two pandemics. Three years after it was completed in 1345, the Black Death arrived in Parish. Much of the work on Notre Dame's current restoration took place in the wake of the COVID pandemic. You don't have to be a Catholic or a Christian to to see the survival of the cathedral as a testament to human endurance, and certainly a place to pray (or hope if prayer isn't your thing) that people will hang on for another millennium.
Hoping you all can take a few minutes to enjoy the restoration. Happy Advent.
About 2,000 people from around the world worked to complete the restoration. Including someone from our local Orthodox parish. He had to be very careful about his letters back home, since they all sign a non-disclosure agreement. But he found it a wonderful spiritual experience.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it was a neat experience for him!
DeleteI just wonder though what there would be to disclose about working on an 800 year old cathedral. It wasn't as though they had any patented processes back then!
I think they didn't want people talking to the media; like most organization they wanted to control the story.
DeleteYes to what Jack said. Notre Dame was a toxic waste site and a burned out ruin. Somebody getting contaminated, crushed to death, or falling from a scaffold was very real, and adverse publicity could have messed up funding and progress. So info was tightly cobtrolled. That that didn't happen was a minor miracle. In the Middle Ages, many people died while working on cathedrals.
DeleteThanks for this post, Jean. It is inspiring that Notre Dame is back to life after the tragic fire. I plan on watching a video of the official opening if I can find a good one. Meanwhile I have listened to some snippets. This is one of the bells ringing for the first time since the restoration:
ReplyDeletehttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Sn9GZsILeHY
I was trying to find a list of the music they were using. I did find a short video of the archbishop blessing the organ, and a cacophonious solo being played. A couple of things struck me. This was apparently a newer organ with five manuals. What on earth do you do with five manuals! It appeared to me that to reach the top two you'd have to stand up, but then you'd be standing on the pedals. The narrator said that there had been a centuries old organ with only one manual. I would have been more interested in hearing that. I am not very familiar with French organ music, I'm much more familiar with the North German baroque composers such as JS Bach and Buxtehude.
I hope the restoration of Notre Dame will be something to lift the spirits of the French people. And maybe light a spark of faith in some who have lost it.
I see that Trump was in attendance. One can hope that he got some benefit from the experience.
I remember reading The Hunchback of Notre Dame when I was a kid. Not a happy novel but interesting. There were some good descriptions of parts of the cathedral which most people wouldn't have seen.
ReplyDeleteThe fire at Norte Dame felt personal to me, just as the violent attack on the Capitol on Jan 6 did. Fighting tears both times because both of those buildings were an important part of my life - when I was young in Paris as a student, and my life from being a young woman in DC going to parties on the Hill, to older age, still attending events there, having had friends and my sister work there. Both representing so much of history, of values I held - both so important to the peoples of France and America. I have always felt blessed by my very small and unimportant experiences with both Notre Dame and our Capitol - so meaningful to me though. A couple of my friends from Paris student days sent me the news of the fire that day and we grieved together.
ReplyDeleteWhen I flew home in August after our 11 month exile in California, the tears came as I looked out the window of the plane getting ready to land, and saw the Capitol Dome, shining below. Some symbols are important to millions for a million different reasons. Notre Dame is for France what the Capitol building is for me. But Notre Dame is also very close to my heart.
I wept watching the news on Jan 6, 2021, seeing rage filled violent people breaking windows, swinging out with weapons, fighting the Capitol police. Killing people, with a scaffolding in the photos allegedly meant for Pence. Americans attacking our government - the first attack on the Capitol since the British during the War of 1812. Whether or not they really would have hung Pence on it wasn’t the point - it was a hate filled symbol, often shown with people carrying oversized crosses. Treason. Blasphemy.
My mind has been fuzzy for a year and time passages are unclear to me. But sometime in the last year or two my husband and I watched a fascinating documentary on PBS about the restoration of Notre Dame. I will be looking for whatever is out there now. PBS May rerun that documentary from a year or two ago as well as of the reopening.
Katherine, as an organist, you may be interested in this story about the organ at the Washington National Cathedral. https://cathedral.org/music/organ/
ReplyDeleteWe went there yesterday for a concert - The Messiah. The second non- doctor and non- rehab outing we’ve had in 14 months. Followed by the most spectacular sunset we’ve ever seen at our home and we are situated so that we get great sunsets regularly. This one was the most spectacular we’ve seen in 52 years here.. So spectacular that the WaPo had a story today. It felt like a miracle day for us. Deo gratias!
https://wapo.st/4ijq0D3
Anne, I'm glad you and your husband had the chance to get out and attend the concert. I love the Messiah. They used to sometimes do a community performance of it in my hometown. My sisters and I took part one year.
DeleteAlso wonderful that you got to see the spectacular sunset!
Thank you for the link to the story about the National Cathedral's organ, that was interesting. When I was in college there was a small pipe organ that students could practice on. I enjoyed playing it. But I have not played a pipe organ since that time, and never played one that large and complex. I wouldn't know what to do with all the stops.
DeleteI played for my two brothers' weddings and decided not to do any more weddings. That was beyond stressful, especially when every mistake is on videotape
Unfortunately I did not keep up practicing the way you need to in order to be truly skilled. Our parish has a nice smaller electronic organ and I can do well enough to play hymns.
Anne, Katherine, Jack, are you familiar with the concept of the sing-along Messiah? It's just like going to a performance of the Messiah in the sense that there is an orchestra, a conductor and vocal soloists... except, rather than having a choir, the audience *is* the choir. Each person in the seats is given a choral copy of the Messiah, and when it's time for a choral piece, the audience sings it. Naturally, the Messiah is more difficult than the songs usually sung by a typical church choir, but that's okay - we're all sight-reading our little hearts out.
DeleteMy wife, two of the kids and I went to a sing-along Messiah this past Friday evening. It was abbreviated: it was only about an hour long, and consisted of some of the "greatest hits" from the Messiah. We were expected to sing five choral pieces ("And the Glory of the Lord", "For Unto Us a Child Is Born", "Glory to God", "All We Like Sheep Are Led Astray", "Hallelujah"). It was a blast. So nerdy!
We donate $60/ year to PBS for streaming. The documentary about the restoration as on NOVA, series 49, episode 13. It’s still available for streaming for those with a subscription., we at h PBS for about 90% of our TV watching time so it’s worth every penny for we shut- ins.
ReplyDeleteThanks. I will check that out.
DeleteTrump was there for the reopening. He has nominated his son-in-law as the next ambassador there.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.cnn.com/2024/12/07/politics/trump-paris-macron-notre-dame/index.html
CNN has reported that Macron plans to invite Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk, whom the president-elect has tapped for a role in his administration, to Paris for a summit on artificial intelligence in early February. Musk was also on hand for the ceremonies at Notre Dame.
Yes, one reason I switched off the live-streamed opening service. The cameras kept showing Trump in place of honor next to Macron, swaying to the organ music or sprawled in his seat like a man on the toilet staring off into the middle distance.
DeleteJill Biden was sent as the official US representative, but she was seated further away from Macron.
It would be better if Trump had nominated Jared Kushner rather than his father Charles Kushner as ambassador to France. Charles has some serious unsavory baggage. Not that Jared doesn't have some of his own, but not rising to the level of dear old dad.
DeleteJust a guess at why Macron is buddying up to Trump. I think he hopes to preempt some of Trump's hostility to NATO, and also hopes that Trump won't throw Ukraine to the wolves.
DeleteYeah, I don't know what the deal is. Macron has mega headaches of his own without inviting MAGA ones. He knows Trump likes to be honored at prestigious events. So he must see some political benefit in snubbing the official US contingent and kissing up to Trump.
DeleteKatherine, as I recall, as soon as trump was out of the WH, Jared closed a billion $ deal in Saudi Arabia. He’s too busy making money to be ambassador . Along with the trump organization itself.
Deletehttps://apnews.com/article/saudi-arabia-trump-business-real-estate-ethics-cb3bf4f03e32690e7fb65b3da336b0e1
The Notre Dame fire caused high levels of lead pollution as much as 50 km from the fire. A French environmental group is trying to get the authorities to understand the impact to those in affected areas. The group failed to get restorers to use zinc or copper in the reconstruction.
ReplyDeleteSo much for the good news ...
https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20241205-how-lead-exposure-became-notre-dame-fire-toxic-legacy
I didn’t see the live broadcast.One reason that I didn’t look for it was because I felt that trumps presence there was sacrilege .
ReplyDeleteRe: Trump, Macron, Dr. Jill et al being at the opening: I guess that illustrates that, for France, Notre Dame has sort of a dual role, as an operating church and as one of the country's premier tourist attractions. I can't think of any churches in the US that would call for the attendance of world leaders for a rededication, much less government funding for the restoration.
ReplyDeleteEven in the French tourist-attraction context, I still can't figure out why Trump (or Biden or any US president) would be there.
Yah, good points. Possibly that's why Biden decided to have "scheduling conflicts," the diplomatic equivalent of the migraine headache you get when the neighbors invite you over to see their vacation slides.
DeleteI assumed that Macron wanted a big event to showcase the importance of France on the world stage (and to shore up his shaky political position). Prince William was there. Whoopee-doo!
A lot of Americans did donate to Notre Dame--$57 million of the $900 million it cost. I think Macron thanked Trump for the donations, tho Trump didn't pony'd up himself.
At least the Bidens are Catholics, even if it's to the chagrin of many American bishops.
I don't think the US has any parallel institutions or landmarks to Notre Dame. The French have this love/hate relationship with the church.
DeleteI think the US did send people from the government to King Charles' coronation in the UK, not sure if Biden was there. Maybe it's kind of like that, something tied up with the tradition and history of a nation.
I am remembering back in 2016, when 86 year old Father Jacques Hamel was killed by terrorists while saying Mass. There was a memorial Mass at Notre Dame, celebrated by the cardinal archbishop of Paris. In attendance was the president at the time, Francois Hollande. Macron was also there, and a whole bunch of past and present French government officials. I don't recall that anyone from the US was there. The actual funeral was at the cathedral of Rouen. Apparently France doesn't have separation of church and state to the extent that we do.
My understanding is that Notre Dame and at least some other landmark churches are state property. So, it was not like Macron was stepping in to help the Church. Of course. Macon's five-year goal required non-governmental funding. So, this was about a building in the heart of Paris that has all the prestige of our national monuments, and therefore a fitting place for representation from heads of state.
DeleteThe America website has a good article on this. France was the churches built before a certain date and pays for the upkeep. But the country is very secular. Catholicism is cultural. Regular mass attendance is less than 10% of the nominal Catholic population. Wearing religious garb, jewelry etc is forbidden in public schools. Most of the French literature I read in college (Voltaire, Rousseau etc) was on the church ‘s official Index of Forbidden Books, still technically the church law in the 1960s.The nuns ignored the Index when assigning reading.
DeleteBetty and I watched several of the network specials on the reopening, mostly in the 15 -30 minutes range. Betty had visited Notre Dame. With the restoration it is certainly much brighter than before. They removed all the accumulated grime and repainted the colors. So, the restoration is much more than just removing the effects of the fire. Betty would like to go back but that is out of the question with her many health problems.
ReplyDeleteOne of my college days friends from Paris says that she sort of misses the grime. I love the new brightness. I would like to go back too but doubt that I ever will.
DeleteJust an observation, make of it what you will:
ReplyDeleteThis post is about a fairly joyful event celebrating human skill and endurance and medieval architecture. About a third of the posts (some of mine included) end up being about how awful Trump is and how he marred the Notre Dame celebration.
I think Trump is the incarnation of everything bad about American wealth, entitlement, materialism, capital, stupidity, patriarchy, Republicans, and golf. But I gotta start channeling that frustration in more positive ways, or at least toward those who can be prodded to do something about it.
Wishing you all a merry Christmas and happy New Year! Off to write letters to my newly elected idiot congressman and to spend a bit more time with my cancer group and Old English friends.
Sorry on my part for being a party pooper. The reopening and restoration is a reason to rejoice.
DeleteNot trying to scold anybody or hide from Trumpian horrors.
DeleteBut I don't want to future trip about what might happen or waste time on "ain't it awful" conversations that would be better spent airing outrage at politicians.
We have been having a nice chat in my Old English group about St Guthlac. I had forgotten the opening lines of one of his Lives which tells how an angel will greet us at heaven's gate:
"Now you must go to where you were always yearning, often and for a long time; I shall lead you there. The way will be gentle for you, and the light of glory bright and open. Now you are one whose time to journey has come, to the home of the saints."
Isn't that just lovely?
It really is!
DeleteFWIW - my parents told me that they recently attended the funeral of a parishioner who had previously had a "death experience" (or is this a "near death experience"?) in which she had encountered Jesus, but was then "sent back". According to my mom, this person no longer had any fear of death, and was looking forward to it. It's hard to imagine being in that frame of mind. I am inclined to weep when I am at the funeral of a complete stranger.
It is possible to be in a frame of mind of not fearing and even looking forward to death, and still tear up at a funeral of a stranger (you might be there because the deceased is the parent of a friend). The part that always makes me verklempt is at the end when the priest goes down to incense the casket, and there is a song, "Saints of God, come to his/her aid, come out to meet her angels of the Lord! Receive his/her soul and present him/her to God Most High. May Christ, who called you, take you to himself..."
DeleteSt Guthlac was a soldier who had a sudden epiphany after a bloody battle and became a penitent pacifist. He lived in Crowland in the fen country as a hermit, and there are many stories of the crows helping him. He was one the most beloved saints of his time, my guess is because the Anglo-Saxons could tell some hair-raising warrior stories about him the better to underscore his later holiness. I always like that Edward G Robinson movie, "Brother Orchid," in which a gangster ends up in a monastery. Sort of a comic take on St Guthlac's story.
DeleteActually it is the toxic waste stuff that depressed me. I decided to ignore it because I think this event is a joyful celebration of many things. Unfortunately Macron and all of Europe have no choice really but to try to cozy up to trump and pray that he doesn’t destroy NATO.
ReplyDeleteThe US has famous monuments, as Jack notes. The Washington Monument, the US Capitol building. The Jefferson Memorial etc that draw millions of tourists. Famous buildings in New York, the Statue of Liberty are all recognizable to millions around the world. Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower are probably the two most recognizable symbols of France for the world.
In the US, the mixing of church and state events usually occurs at the Washington National Cathedral. Most presidential funerals are held there, as are some other high level political funerals. Even if the funeral is elsewhere sometimes they lie in state there while people come to look “ to pay their respects”. Trump was not invited for McCain’s funeral in the Cathedral.
https://www.newyorker.com/news/letter-from-trumps-washington/john-mccains-funeral-was-the-biggest-resistance-meeting-yet
And a few times for national events like the National Day of Mourning after 9/11. The cathedral calls itself “ The Nation’s Church” because of these events. The flags of all 50 states hang up high in the Nave.
I think President John Kennedy lay in state in the Capitol for three days.. I remember watching his funeral at St. Matthew's cathedral, on tv. Cardinal Cushing officiated. I don't remember anything about the service, except his rather nasal enunciation of Latin at the consecration, which is a weird thing to remember.
DeleteCatholics do often have their important masses at St Mattthews. When I as looking up McCains funeral at the cathedral I learned that when its most spectacular stained glass window ( the Rose Window) was being dedicated in 1977 Jimmy Carter was there, and so was Queen Elizabeth as head of the Church of England.
Delete