Notre Dame, the Limestone Phoenix 

By Louise Peloquin

Victor Hugo’s bestselling gothic novel Notre-Dame de Paris, published in 1831, roused public interest in the deteriorating cathedral and led to its restoration between 1844 and 1864 spearheaded by architect Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc. Just as, on November 8th, the cathedral’s 8 restored bells tore through a five-year silence, Hugo’s words ring true today:

Perseverance, secret of all triumphs.

Victor Hugo

Three blog pieces have already covered the Notre Dame saga. The first was Dick Howe’s review of Notre Dame, a Netflix series on the firefighters who fought the 2019 blaze. Details on the restoration completed the text. See the link.

https://richardhowe.com/2023/04/03/notre-dame-de-paris-an-update/

 During his exclusive visit to Notre Dame on November 29th, French President Emmanuel Macron recalled how the world was shocked when flames tore through the cathedral on Monday April 15, 2019. “It will once again be shocked to see its resurrection” he told the press, “and this shock will be one of hope.”

On April 16, 2019, President Macron addressed the nation on 8 PM prime time news to announce that, in five years, Notre Dame would be rebuilt “more beautiful than ever.” His announcement triggered incredulity, hope and sarcasm. Everyone questioned the technical feasibility of the project, not to mention its financing. Opponents interpreted the declaration as a political ploy, a way to divert public opinion from the “gilets jaunes” (“yellow vest”) movement whose members had been energetically demonstrating every Saturday afternoon for months and months calling for higher salaries, better working conditions, lower taxes and less bureaucracy. The self-proclaimed “Jupiter”, was at it again with his will to control everything and everyone. As early as October 2016, presidential candidate Macron had enlightened journalists interviewing him by saying: “Jupiter is not just a simple god. He is the king of gods.”

How could Notre Dame reopen in 2024? Who would pick up the astronomical tab? After all, the French treasury was definitely not in a cozy financial position. Who could possibly rebuild a gothic cathedral today? Questions and comments flooded the media.

2,062 days after his gutsy announcement, Emmanuel Macron will preside the cathedral’s official inauguration. On Saturday December 7, 2024, the French State, proprietor of the cathedral, hands over the keys to the entrusted assignee, the Diocese of Paris. His Excellence Laurent Bernard Marie Ulrich, Archbishop of Paris, publicly specified that the Diocese had never relinquished the keys in the first place, thus invalidating the official press release.

In the square outside the cathedral, Emmanuel Macron will pronounce a formal speech, one he was determined to deliver inside Notre Dame. However, the Archbishop flatly rejected the presidential plan on the basis that it would violate article 35-1 of the 1905 law on the separation of Church and State. Moreover, on what grounds would a president do what no French king in history had ever done?  The 1905 law prevailed and Emmanuel Macron will address his distinguished guests – heads of state, philanthropists and other dignitaries – in the square.

Meanwhile inside, the grand organ will once again fill the nave, transept and side chapels with celestial music. Archbishop Ulrich will officiate at Vespers and conduct prayers.

A grand concert featuring an eclectic musical line-up will include French pop singers Clara Luciani and Vianney, Chinese pianist Lang Lang, South African soprano Pretty Yende (who sang at the Charles III coronation) and Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel. Naturally, the Maîtrise de Notre Dame de Paris, the ND choir, will sing.

2024 has been a banner year for Paris. After successfully hosting the summer Olympic and Paralympic Games, the city is once again taking center stage as Notre Dame reopens to the public on December 8th the feast of the Immaculate Conception.

Without the $895,001,318 donated by 340,000 individuals from 150 countries, the renovation would never have occurred. Philanthropists and multinational firms provided tens of millions. School children sent drawings and broke their piggy banks to contribute a euro or two. Retirees dipped into meager pensions and sent checks. More than any other nationality, countless Americans stepped up to the plate and gave generously. (Does that sound familiar from our fellow citizens?) Saving Notre Dame has been the most sweeping fund-raising project in history. Thousands of letters, many hand-written, were sent to the Rebuilding Notre Dame committee. All have been preciously archived.

$148,108,965 remain in the pot. It will be put to good use until 2030. Scaffolding remains as artisans continue to consolidate flying buttresses, prepare appropriate perches for gargoyles, statues  and decorative sculptures, and many other specific assignments.

Notre Dame in November 2024

Notre Dame’s reopening will mark not only its rebirth but also the perseverance and determination of all those who worked on its restoration. That warrants quoting another great French poet – Charles Baudelaire:

Nothing can be done except little by little.

Five years of  “little by little” prompted some 2,000 artisans to collaborate on resurrecting Notre Dame. Here’s a sampling of the marvels to (re)discover.

Approaching the cathedral on foot, the visitor admires the new spire. Details on the spire were posted in December 2023 and in February 2024. See the two links:

https://richardhowe.com/2023/12/18/gift-wrapped-in-steel-notre-dames-new-spire/#comments

https://richardhowe.com/2024/02/21/notre-dame-of-paris-spire-update/

Spire in November 2024

 The roof, which collapsed in the fire, was rebuilt. 460 tons of lead were used for the spire and the roof. The choice of material ignited a heated debate over safety concerns but the architects had the last word and decided on the material used since 1182 – 43,055 square feet of lead.

In order to access Notre Dame, the visitor crosses a 142-yard-long, 109-yard-wide area encased by 160 new trees – “a revegetation project offering a more welcoming space to tourists and visitors” according to Paris City Hall. No cars, no parking, no vehicles of any kind allowed. A café and bookstore will open underground, in keeping with the Paris vibe.

Architect’s image of the square

The visitor approaches Notre Dame’s miraculously-spared grand doors. Specialists in hazmat suits thoroughly cleaned the intricate decorative ironwork by gently scrubbing the 13th-century wood and metal with special brushes.

Doors

Once inside, luminosity envelops the visitor. When he paid homage to 1,200 of the artisans who participated in reviving the cathedral, Emmanuel Macron, at the end of his November 29th visit, declared that they had “turned ashes into art.” Indeed, a daunting task was not only reinforcing the weakened structure but also ridding the Lutetian Limestone – also known as “Paris stone” – walls and arches of the black soot and toxic particles left by the fire. The success of the enterprise surpassed everyone’s expectations.

Before and after photo of the nave

Before and after photo of the arches

Looking up at the arches

The brightness is further enhanced by Notre Dame’s 44 stained glass windows, most of which were removed and cleaned by hand, inch by inch, with specially-designed swabs. Miraculously, the famous rose windows did not shatter during the blaze. Nonetheless, artisans propped on delicate scaffolding, put their expert hands to work on a thorough cleansing. 220 stained-glass scenes now cast their multicolored iridescence on the blonde limestone and continue to illustrate Biblical narratives.

Rose window

The 29 chapels on both sides of the nave and choir were restored according to Viollet-le-Duc’s vision. Walls, arches and ceilings once again pop with the architect’s vibrant color scheme.

Before and after of chapel wall with Saint Marcel

Blue arches

Multicolored columns

30 artists breathed new life into the many figures sculpted on the wooden partition surrounding the altar. Surprisingly, these were untouched by flames. They now gaze lovingly upon the visitor with expressive eyes no AI robot can match.

Last Supper scene

Inside the renovated cathedral, the visitor notices the contemporary touches of new liturgical furniture – altar, baptismal font, tabernacle, etc., all signed by artist Guillaume Bardet. He describes the simplicity of the altar as “an inverted arch.” Although it is made of bronze, the new altar seems to defy gravity. Poised lightly on the floor, it guides one’s vision upwards.

Altar

Bardet also designed the 1,500 solid oak chairs, inspired by what he calls “noble simplicity… discreet, silent but comfortable.” The visitor has yet to ascertain the veracity of the latter.

Chair

Paris, with its 250 organs is sometimes called “the capital of organs” and Notre Dame’s is exceptional. The fire spared the monumental instrument. Nevertheless, it needed a complete overhaul. Each of its 8,000 pipes was disassembled, cleaned and polished by hand. Then, each was reassembled and tuned. The 8,000 pipes have all recaptured their unique enchanting voices.

Organ with rose window behind it

Organ pipes

Although tourists will not see it first hand, images of Notre Dame’s “forest” are available. This affectionate nickname represents the massive oak framework which the 2019 fire entirely transformed into ashes. In order to renew “the forest”,  2,500 centenary oaks were identified throughout France. Individual land owners, villages and organizations willingly donated their grandest trees. Foresters and lumberjacks mobilized for the daunting harvesting task.

Once the trees cut down, 1,200 artisans spent thousands of hours rebuilding Notre Dame’s framework. Technical Director for the Reconstruction, Jean-Louis Bidet of Perrault Brothers Workshop in Mauges-sur-Loire, specifies that his team used 13th-century techniques in their endeavour. Blacksmiths, inspired by medieval drawings kept in the national archives, fashioned special axes. Bidet and his artisans spent 4 months transforming the oaks into wooden planks, 6 months shaping them to the required dimensions and another 6 months assembling the 1,860 beams with wooden dowels, just as cathedral builders did in the Middle Ages. As luck would have it, the Herculean task was guided by national architects’ drawings minutely executed 6 months before the fire. These specialists had spent 6 months thoroughly studying the framework. The new “forest” is breathtakingly beautiful.

Inside “the forrest”

Wooden dowels

Workers on the completed framework celebrating their finished masterpiece

All of the above provides but a pale glimpse of the Limestone Phoenix. The best way to (re)discover Notre Dame is to pay her a visit. A special app allows up to 3,000 visitors at a time to reserve a free, 30-minute, time slot. The app offers different tour itineraries – for pilgrims, families, art lovers, historians – with optional audio-description headphones provided in French, English and Spanish. More language options will be added soon. Guided group tours will begin in June 2025.

For information, consult:

sortiraparis.com

Those who wish to pray or to attend Mass at Notre Dame will be able to enter with a separate queue. Those who have not reserved or who do not wish to attend Mass can always line up outside but they will need to be “armed with patience” as the French say.

Opting to charge a five-euro entrance fee to Notre Dame fuelled debate for months. However, the cathedral, though State-owned, remains a place of worship and all are freely accessible in France so the fee idea was abandoned. Archbishop Ulrich himself insisted on the necessity of “freely sharing this slice of history.” Only “le Trésor,” the space for liturgical treasures like golden monstrances and other artefacts, will be subject to a fee.

14 to 15 million visitors are expected to visit Notre Dame each year.

A series of religious and cultural ceremonies are scheduled from December 8th to 15th. Every morning at 10:30, the Archbishop will celebrate a Mass dedicated to specific intentions such as honoring the firefighters who saved the cathedral and the artisans who breathed new life into her. On December 12th at 5:45 PM, a special Mass will be celebrated for the Latin-American community in honor of Notre Dame de Guadalupe.

The Limestone Phoenix is spreading her splendid wings for the world to admire!

Notre Dame facade today