Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris, is on fire

Padraig, Beautiful, thank you for posting this.

 

I hope they saved them all. Quite a collection.

 

Yes, we'll have to agree to disagree about the burning church because if it is Notre Dame whoever painted the picture for the prayer card cut the towers from the main body of the church and shifted them to the left.

On reflection, I think that the lady beside Jesus could be St. Genevieve, the patron saint of Paris. The lady in the picture looks like a peasant woman and it's rare to see Our Blessed Lady portrayed as a peasant. St. Genevieve was a peasant: https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=120

The Pantheon was originally intended to be dedicated to St. Genevieve but the revolutionaries appropriated it before its dedication. In 1791 the revolutionaries seized St. Genevieve's church, renamed it the Pantheon and declared it a place for the burial of distinguished Frenchmen. Voltaire, Marie Curie and Victor Hugo are buried there. In 1821 it was returned to Church use. In 1831 it was secularised again as a national mausoleum. In 1852 it was returned to the Church again. In 1885 (five years before the date of the prayer card) it was re-consecrated and dedicated to St. Genevieve. I think it is currently a mausoleum. Although the Pantheon is a possibility for the church with the dome, I still think it is Sacre Coeur.

Incidentally but off-topic, the revolutionaries established France's first public school on the site of St. Genevieve's Abbey after they expelled the monks. Now named Lycee Henri-1V, it is a very prestigious secondary/preparatory school for France's elitist Grand Ecoles. Macron is a past-pupil. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycée_Henri-IV

If the burning of Notre Dame wasn't an accident, I doubt that Islamic terrorists are the culprits because they tend to boast about their terrorist activities. French secularists have some form when it comes to destroying churches.

 

The following comment comes from an article which is very similar to one of the SpiritDaily articles about the Holy Card. This comment possibly gives a little more insight about some of the images on the card:

MyronM says:
April 26, 2019 at 21:36

Saint Chapelle was identified correctly, while the details of the architecture of the second object in the fire show that there is the church of Saint Genevieve (or … Pantheon). The chapel was built by Saint Louis IX, while the construction of this church was completed during the reign of Louis XVI, king and martyr, and still during his life the National Assembly turned this unconsecrated temple into a mausoleum (April 4, 1791).
This card shows the execution of Georges Darboy, the Archbishop of Paris, on May 24, 1871.
Quote from the French Wikipedia on the subject of Archbishop Georges Darboy:
“His execution (of Darboy) would have been predicted by Maximin Giraud, one of the young seers of La Salette, on December 4, 1868, during an interview during which Bishop Darboy expressed himself in a rather negative way about the apparitions of the Virgin Mary which took place in 1846:

“Is your so-called beautiful lady? […] He’s stupid, his speech! »[…]

Maximin, humiliated for this prince of the Church who was so long in his presence, wanted Our Lady of La Salette to have the last word. “Monseigneur,” he replied forcefully, “it is also true that the Blessed Virgin appeared to me at La Salette, and that She spoke to me, that it is true that in 1871 you will be shot by the rabble. Three years later, at La Roquette, it is asserted that the prelate, a prisoner [of the Communards], answered people who wanted to make attempts to save him: – “It’s useless, Maximin told me that I will be shot. ”

– Leon Bloy, ‘Celle qui pleure’

***

The above is from this article,

The 129 year old Holy Card everyone is talking about
Posted on April 26, 2019 by Catholicism Pure & Simple​

 

This sounds like the explanation.

 

etoa,

I found the Snopes page on this map, they have it wrong once again by minimizing the severity of these attacks but they included the source for this map and I wanted to share the website with everyone here.

"This map comes from the christianophobie.fr, a website dedicated to tracking acts of “Christianophobia” in France and the rest of the world."

You can click on the link included in the above quote or click on the following link https://www.christianophobie.fr/carte#1533806837474-41125f61-3633 to access this website.





Snopes does make a good point though, that all of these attacks have occurred since the beginning of 2017 not the past 4 years. So, it is actually a worse situation than most people think, not 4 years only 2.33 years.
ref. https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/churches-destroyed-in-france/

 

Thanks for this. I was wondering.

 

Sorta like what they did to the Louvre. Beam me up Scotty.



Architect's Vision for Rebuilt Notre Dame Worse Than Burned Version

Almost immediately after April's devastating fire at the iconic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, the French government announced that there would be an international competition among architects for rebuilding the church.

Although the cathedral is still a Catholic church, it is actually owned by the French government.

A secular bureaucracy seeking modern architectural ideas for rebuilding a sacred Gothic cathedral...what could go wrong?

This:



The rebuilt Notre Dame could feature a futuristic glass design, solar power, and an urban farm that supports vulnerable and homeless Parisians, if one architecture firm's vision is realized https://cnn.it/2HhpggX

This abomination is the vision of Belgian architect Vincent Callebaut, whose website touts his accomplishments in "sustainable architecture," including being called "the best eco-utopian architect" by Time magazine.

Elsewhere on his site, Callebaut clarifies his views a bit:

Notre-Dame cathedral, which has been keeping watch on Christian and Western culture since the beginning of its construction eight centuries ago, nearly saw its end in the historic fire that devoured its roofs as we watched on in disbelief. Reflecting the all-spiritual splendor of our material and sacred heritage, this sublime lady has undoubtedly reminded us of the frailty of our life and our civilization.

What is more, this powerful fire has awakened our dystopian imagination and somewhat echoed the Church's current identify (sic) crisis, as well as the environmental challenges we are facing through climate change.

Now, as we start thinking about Notre-Dame's reconstruction, questions arise as to how we can architecturally summarize the human intelligence of our era and depict the prospects of Catholicism. More specifically: How can we write the contemporary history of our country, but also that of science, art and spirituality together? For it is hardly enough to reproduce the past as it used to be; we must project ourselves towards a desirable future, conveying to the world the thirst for transcendence that propels human beings.

Thus, we seek to present a transcendent project, a symbol of a resilient and ecological future that offers the city Paris a set of solutions inspired by biomimicry, defined here as a common ethic for a fairer symbiotic relationship between humans and nature.

He pays lip service to all of the right things, then goes off the rails with the "eco-utopian" nonsense.

If you are the kind of person who is disappointed that the Notre Dame Cathedral didn't have a "Hot Dog on a Stick" inside, Callebaut's proposal should thrill you.

If, on the other hand, you are the type who wonders what the heck "biomimicry" has to do with one of the most iconic houses of worship on the planet, you may be in for a lot of disappointment.

https://pjmedia.com/trending/architects-vision-for-rebuilt-notre-dame-worse-than-burned-version/

 

Ugh

 

So, did they ever identify the cause of the fire?

 

Notre-Dame: Paris cathedral restoration work continues

Workers have been photographed scaling the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris, nearly 11 months after a fire ravaged the French capital's 850-year-old landmark.

Image copyrightEPA
On Monday, restoration workers were seen on the elaborate scaffolding surrounding the roof, whilst some abseiled down the facade of the cathedral.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
On 15 April 2019, the world looked on as a fire engulfed the cathedral, causing the Gothic building's spire and roof to collapse.

Thousands of people gathered in the streets around the cathedral, observing the flames in silence.

Some could be seen openly weeping, while others sang hymns or said prayers.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
The main structure, including the two bell towers, was saved.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
President Emmanuel Macron called it a "terrible tragedy".

Visiting the scene, the president said the cathedral was a building "for all French people", including those who had never been there.

"We'll rebuild Notre-Dame together", he said as he praised the "extreme courage" and "professionalism" of the firefighters.

The president set a five-year goal for its reconstruction.

Image copyrightEPA
In October 2019, the French culture ministry said nearly €1bn (£850m; $1.1bn) had been raised or pledged for the work.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES

Last December, the cathedral did not hold a Christmas Mass for the first time in more than 200 years, as repair works continued.

Midnight Mass took place at the nearby church of Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois instead.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
A Unesco World Heritage site, Notre-Dame has stood tall above Paris since the 1200s.

Before the fire, the cathedral received almost 13 million visitors each year, more than the Eiffel Tower.

Image copyrightEPA

Construction of the Notre-Dame in Paris's Île de la Cité began under the reign of Louis VII in 1163.

The first stone of the gothic building was laid in the presence of Pope Alexander III, but construction wasn't completed until 1345.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
The landmark has given its name to one of the country's literary masterpieces. Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre-Dame is known to the French simply as Notre-Dame de Paris.

The last time the cathedral suffered major damage was during the French Revolution. It survived two world wars largely unscathed.

Image copyrightGETTY IMAGES
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https://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-51815537

 

Virgin Mary statue, a symbol of resilience, returns to Notre-Dame Cathedral 5 years after fire