Catholic Review Managing Editor Paul McMullen came into my
office April 15 with his phone in his hand. “Have you seen what’s happening in
Paris?” he asked, showing me the news feed of a massive fire at the Cathedral
of Notre Dame.
I’ve visited the grand cathedral a few times since the late
1990s. It is an impressive place to visit and to pray.
My most recent pilgrimage there was when my wife (Ann M. Augherton, managing editor of the Catholic Herald) and I spent
a couple days in Paris after visiting the town of Saint-Omer with Archbishop
William E. Lori. We were in northern France for events to commemorate the 275th
anniversary of the arrival of Daniel Carroll to the School of the English
Jesuits in Saint-Omer. Daniel was followed at the school by his brother, John –
who became the first bishop in the United States and the first archbishop of
Baltimore – and eventually by their cousin, Charles.
In Paris, Ann and I visited eight churches over the course
of a couple of days, including the Church of St. Sulpice, recently damaged by
arson. This church is the home base for the Sulpician Fathers who came to the
U.S. to train men to be priests, and the order is still connected to our two
seminaries in the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
We also visited the church of St. Gervais-St. Protais for
evening vespers.
But the highlight, of course, was Notre Dame, just a few
blocks west. On an island in the middle of the Seine, it beckons all.
People gather in the plaza and along the pedestrian streets
near the cathedral on a daily basis. It’s reported that twice as many people
visit the cathedral every day than visit the Eiffel Tower.
A vendor in the plaza sells birdseed to tourists who hold it
in their hands to allow the numerous pigeons to alight and eat. Notre Dame
attracts believers and nonbelievers alike to view its beauty. Like the Blessed
Mother herself, the cathedral points people to Jesus.
At least it did until yesterday.
The structure of the cathedral has been saved, but the spire
and the roof are gone. It will take quite some time, but Paris Archbishop
Michel Aupetit and French President Emmanuel Macron have pledged to rebuild.
Just a few days before the fire, the sounds of France echoed
through the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed
Virgin Mary when the Orchestre d’Harmonie de Saint-Omer (Saint-Omer Wind
Orchestra) played a concert to celebrate three centuries of friendship between
the U.S. and France.
As a young student, John Carroll and his brother Daniel
attended school in Saint-Omer in northern France in the 1740s. John eventually
joined the Jesuits and returned to Maryland. The connection between Maryland
and France remains strong today with the establishment of the Maryland Chapter
of the Saint-Omer Foundation for Transatlantic Values.
François Decoster, mayor of Saint-Omer and vice president
for culture of the Hauts-de-France region, was scheduled to leave Maryland for
France the day the fire erupted at Notre Dame. He and other officials had been
in Baltimore and Washington for concerts by the 70-piece orchestra and other
events.
Reached at BWI Airport April 15 just before departing for
France, Decoster said of the fire at Notre Dame that had been burning for about
five hours at that point, “It’s really a tragedy. We are all watching whether
the firemen will be able to control the fire. So far, they are not. The images
are really terrifying.
“The French people and people all over the world are
watching this. They see this burning,” he told the Catholic Review.
Noting that he and his associates had been in the U.S. to
celebrate the shared history between France and the U.S., especially Maryland,
he said, “Our history, of course, shares the history of Paris. The Carroll
family knew the capital city. They would have been there.
“At the same time, this tells us how important the patrimony
is to the people,” he said of the inherited heritage and culture of Paris.
Notre Dame is especially important as both a spiritual site and tourist
attraction.
“The cathedral has welcomed so many historical events,”
Decoster said, including marking the ends of wars, important funerals,
coronations and others.
He worked and studied for 20 years not far from the
Cathedral of Notre Dame.
“It’s an architecture that every person in Paris knows as
part of every day. It’s a building really present in our lives.
“It’s amazing to think that this building may vanish. Part
of it is vanishing. The roof is gone. The arrow (spire) is gone,” Decoster
said.
The cathedral basilica in Saint-Omer is also named for Our
Lady. Archbishop Lori celebrated a Mass in the Cathedral Notre Dame de
Saint-Omer to celebrate Franco-American friendship in October 2017.
The belfry of the cathedral, built in 1492, had been renovated
recently, and along with it the six bells in the tower were replaced and
brought back to life. The Archdiocese of Baltimore contributed one of the
bells, a smaller one named “Domatille.”
With the renovation, the six bells, including the largest,
which weighs five tons, can ring.
Anne Pierard, a member of the Friends of the Cathedral,
noted that church bells peal to call people to prayer, to warn townspeople, to
mourn for the dead or to celebrate joyous occasions.
Mayor Decoster posted on his Facebook page, while the fire
still burned, that people from all around the world expressed solidarity with
Parisiennes and all of France at the loss of the priceless heritage of the
Paris cathedral.
“Tonight, in Saint-Omer, the bells of the Cathedral
Notre-Dame have rung in testimony of our infinite sadness,” Decoster said.
Gunty is CEO, associate publisher and editor of The Catholic Review in Baltimore.
Those who wish to help
the restoration effort can contribute through the French Heritage Society, a
U.S. 501(c)3 charitable organization. FHS is the main American heritage
organization in France and the U.S. and has given close to $2 million in
restoration and education grants in the last two years. Donations made be made
online at https://frenchheritagesociety.org/event/notre-dame-fire-restoration-fund/.
© Arlington Catholic Herald 2021