French Culture: Les Cloches and Hope for Cathedral of Notre Dame
As promised we are covering the Hope present for the Cathedral of Notre Dame in our French Culture section.
What is the signifance of Les Cloches - the Bells ringing for Notre Dame ? Think of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, ringing the bells… in France bells ring in each day. Additionally bells offer hope to the people. Even at this time, in solidarity with Notre Dame other churches have rung their bells to show their love and support for the Cathedral de Notre Dame during this trying time. May Notre Dame continue to know of the world’s support despite the devestation that has happened. May they continue to focus on The Resurrection and The New Spring, and remain aware that Miracles abound.
We have included some images of Notre Dame that we took while we were there - to show more of what will need to be restored. Tomorrow we will share some of our favorite photographs of Notre Dame, but for tonight - please take a look at these to better understand what has taken place. Also, please find ways to donate at the end of our post.
The Spire ~ which is now gone from the fire
Spire with Statues - these statues were removed before the fire ~
The roof of Notre Dame ~ With Statues - the statues were removed before the fire~ the roof now destroyed from the fire
Spire and roof line - now destroyed
Bell Tower
Bell Tower
Bell Tower and wooden beams used in parts of the construction of Notre Dame
As you are looking at the front of Notre Dame - This is the Left side tower - which firefighters had to fight to save.
A clear image of the rooflines that are now non-existent.
Please note, the sections we have provided here are just some of the pieces that have been damaged and need to be restored. There is extensive damage in other areas; windows have been damaged, the interior of Notre Dame at this point is full of debris from the fire ~ additionally, any smoke or soot damage is present. This may include soot damage or smoke damage to artwork - which, although may not have caught on fire - May still need to be restored. Additionally, the ceiling itself, any painted portions ofthe ceiling are either no longer there, or again, would have suffered from the fire. The list is long for repairs that need to be made.
In relation to donations: Msgr. Michel Aupetit, the Archbishop of Paris has recommended for people to be cautious of where they choose to donate to for restoration of the Cathedral of Notre Dame. The Official website to make a donation to is: https://don.fondationnotredame.fr/fapp-notre-dame . Msgr. Michel Aupetit shared this link via Twitter stating the following: “A tous. La Fondation Notre Dame lance ce 16 avril une coordination internationale pour la collecte de dons. Je recommande la prudence face aux collectes privées françaises ou étrangères multiples qui ont surgi concomitamment à l’évènement.” English Translation: “To all. On April 16th, the Notre Dame Foundation launches an international coordination for the collection of donations. I recommend caution in the face of multiple French or foreign private collections that have arisen concomitantly with the event.” - -To be sure that the Cathedral of Notre Dame receives your donation, we recommend using the link above as Msgr. Aupetit has stated.