Fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris and Other Catholic Churches

La Dame de Pierre : beau succès pour le spectacle d’hommage à Notre-Dame
Par Sabine Faivre - Le pari était risqué : remplir les 3.500 places du Palais des Congrès trois jours de suite, au début de l'été.

La Dame de Pierre: great success for the tribute show to Notre-Dame
By Sabine Faivre - The bet was risky: fill the 3,500 places of the Palais des Congrès three days in a row, at the beginning of the summer.
 
[Info BV] Pour Henri d’Anselme, « c’est l’âme de notre pays qu’on restaure »
Par Raphaelle Claisse - Sur Notre-Dame de Paris, la flèche prend forme. Ce qui enthousiasme Henri d'Anselme, joint par BV.
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[Info BV] For Henri d’Anselme, “it is the soul of our country that we are restoring”By Raphaelle Claisse - On Notre-Dame de Paris, the spire takes shape. Which excites Henri d'Anselme, joined by BV.
 
@PERLOU it is good that we do not forget and pay attention to reality I think.

La Dame de Pierre: great success for the tribute show to Notre-Dame
By Sabine Faivre - The bet was risky: fill the 3,500 places of the Palais des Congrès three days in a row, at the beginning of the summer.

[Info BV] For Henri d’Anselme, “it is the soul of our country that we are restoring”By Raphaelle Claisse - On Notre-Dame de Paris, the spire takes shape. Which excites Henri d'Anselme, joined by BV.
From the article by Sabine Faivre:

On June 25, Marc Eynaud received Corentin Stemler , director of the show La Dame de Pierre . “It’s a bit of a spectacle of excess ,” he confided to BV . The bet was also risky: filling the 3,500 seats at the Palais des Congrès three days in a row, at the beginning of summer, with the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral as its star, while France was sinking into violence urban riots and fires. But as Mark Twain said, “They didn’t know it was impossible, so they did it!” »

The result exceeds expectations, in terms of attendance and unanimity, on the very production of the show: three sold-out performances, ten-minute standing ovations at each performance, varied and enthusiastic reactions from an audience who came marvel at this cathedral, which lively and luminous settings present at pivotal moments in its history, carried by epic music, full of panache, poetry and the sacred. Indeed, more than a historical reconstruction, it is above all a question of translating the spiritual framework, the transcendence carried by this cathedral, and this is what the show takes us towards. Each painting highlights what the Christian faith made it possible to build and of which the cathedral is the cradle, the receptacle, the tangible sign: faith in Christ, in the Church, in the Virgin Mary, who is at its heart. The history of kings, saints, famous writers has passed through Notre-Dame.

Sometimes it seems like we are better off not looking at life as just full of "impossible" tasks. Vive la France !
 
Notre Dame gets a new rooster. Here's the original before:

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...and after:
Notre Dame Original Rooster.jpg

In pivotal moment, Notre Dame Cathedral spire gets golden rooster weathervane, a symbol of a phoenix

PARIS (AP) — Notre Dame Cathedral got its rooster back Saturday, in a pivotal moment for the Paris landmark’s restoration.
December 16, 2023

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The installation by a crane of a new golden rooster, reimagined as a dramatic phoenix with licking, flamed feathers, goes beyond being just a weathervane atop the cathedral spire. It symbolizes resilience amid destruction after the devastating April 2019 fire — as restoration officials also revealed an anti-fire misting system is being kitted out under the cathedral's roof.

Chief architect Philippe Villeneuve, who designed this new rooster, stated that the original rooster’s survival signified a ray of light in the catastrophe.

“That there was hope, that not everything was lost. The beauty of the (old) battered rooster... expressed the cry of the cathedral suffering in flames,” Villeneuve said. He described the new work of art, approximately half a meter long and gleaming in the December sun behind Notre Dame Cathedral, as his “phoenix.”

Villeneuve elaborated on the new rooster’s significance, saying: “Since (the fire) we have worked on this rooster (the) successor, which sees the flame carried to the top of the cathedral as it was before, more than 96 meters from the ground... It is a fire of resurrection.”

In lighthearted comments, the architect said that the process of design was so intense he might have to speak to his “therapist” about it.

Before ascending to its perch, the rooster -- a French emblem of vigilance and Christ’s resurrection -- was blessed by Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich in a square behind the monument. The rooster -- or “coq” in French -- is a emotive national emblem for the French because of the word’s semantics -- the Latin gallus meaning Gaul and gallus simultaneously meaning rooster.

Ulrich placed sacred relics in a hole inside the rooster's breast, including fragments of Christ’s Crown of Thorns and remains of St. Denis and St. Genevieve, infusing the sculpture with religious importance.

The Crown of Thorns, regarded as Notre Dame’s most sacred relic, was among the treasures quickly removed after the fire broke out. Brought to Paris by King Louis IX in the 13th century, it is purported to have been pressed onto Christ’s head during the crucifixion. A sealed tube was also placed in the sculpture containing a list the names of nearly 2,000 individuals who contributed to the cathedral’s reconstruction, underscoring the collective effort behind the works.


Amid the rooster benediction ceremony, Notre Dame’s new restoration chief, Philippe Jost, also detailed pioneering measures taken to safeguard the iconic cathedral against future fires – in rare comments to the press.

“We have deployed a range of fire protection devices, some of which are very innovative in a cathedral, including a misting system in the attics, where the oak frame and in the spire are located," Jost said. “And this is a first for a cathedral in France.”

French President Emmanuel Macron, who last week visited the site to mark a one-year countdown to its re-opening, announced that the original rooster will be displayed in a new museum at the Hôtel-Dieu. This move, along with plans to invite Pope Francis for the cathedral’s reopening next year, highlights Notre Dame’s significance in French history and culture.

The rooster’s installation, crowning a spire reconstructed from Eugène Viollet-le-Duc’s 19th-century design, is a poignant reminder of its medieval origins as a symbol of hope and faith.

Its longstanding association with the French nation since the Renaissance further adds to its historical and cultural significance, marking a new chapter of renewal and hope for Notre Dame and the French people.

Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich inserts the tube with the relics and names of contributors inside.
Notre Dame Rooster.jpg
 
If the new rooster is supposed to represent Notre Dame rising again from the ashes, Villeneuve did a good job, imo. I think it keeps the spirit of the original, but is beautiful in its own right. One 'modern touch' that didn't get screwed up. Maybe there is some hope for France?
 
Today there was a fire on the spire of the (gothic) cathedral Notre-Dame of Rouen (Normandy) -- which was under work -- but the firemen managed to stop it.

 
Incendie de l’église de l’Immaculée-Conception à Saint-Omer : déferlements de rumeurs complotistes

A church in N. France "caught fire" last night. Bell tower collapsed.

The article above (in French) denounces a lot of "conspriacy theories" on Twitter.

"Isn't it amazing how many churches go up in flames?" said one account called "Deep geopolitics" with 46k followers.

"That's a lot, isn't it?" wrote comedienne Veronique Genest with 128k followers.

On X, some see evidence of a “genocide of our churches”. And many denounce “the deafening silence of the media” while “churches are burning and satanic values are on display”

On Facebook, La Voix du Nord had to close to comments the publication dedicated to the fire at the Church of the Immaculate Conception. “We were alerted by several comments pointing to conspiracy-mongering. In fact, several of them were more than borderline, with some verging on racism and Islamophobia,” explains a journalist in the interactivity department




There is no thread dedicated to suspicious fires in catholic churches, is there?
 
Incendie de l’église de l’Immaculée-Conception à Saint-Omer : déferlements de rumeurs complotistes

A church in N. France "caught fire" last night. Bell tower collapsed.

The article above (in French) denounces a lot of "conspriacy theories" on Twitter.



There is no thread dedicated to suspicious fires in catholic churches, is there?
The Notre Dame thread has some related stories: Fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris

Maybe it can be renamed to cover all such cases?
 

Oh well, I do not what is more sad, the fire itself or that it is/was being converted into apartments.

A church and its revitalization project go up in flames
A violent fire broke out in a Trois-Rivières church on Thursday afternoon, as it was being converted into an apartment building.
The fire that raged at the Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Allégresses church in Trois-Rivières was brought under control shortly after 3:40 p.m., the City of Trois-Rivières established on its Facebook page.

“The first stage of the work, which has been underway for over a month, was due to be completed tomorrow,” explains Georges Mouradian, the real estate developer behind the church's revitalization project, which involved between 40 and 50 housing units. Mr. Mouradian had been working on the project for over two years, given the complexity of the work.

The future of a second housing project, adjacent to the church, is also uncertain. It was due to house around 40 units.

The businesses surrounding the church were not affected. The cause of the fire is still unknown, reports Mr. Mouradian. The continuation of real estate projects remains on hold, given the ongoing investigation.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
 
Incendie de l’église de l’Immaculée-Conception à Saint-Omer : déferlements de rumeurs complotistes

A church in N. France "caught fire" last night. Bell tower collapsed.

The article above (in French) denounces a lot of "conspriacy theories" on Twitter.



There is no thread dedicated to suspicious fires in catholic churches, is there?
Note also that in New Caledonia, 5 Catholic Churches, 3 of which were of historically/culturally significant, have been gutted or severely damaged by fires since May. Even in the context of the highly destructive (and deeply strategic) insurrection led by a radical Melanesian pro-independence movement, these attacks stand out as religion, particularly Catholicism, is a key pillar of Melanesian society. The condemnation of these attacks transcended all divisions of ethnicity, political persuasion and economic situation.

Have the nihilists indeed been loosed?
 
Another country where the destruction (accidental or otherwise) of churches has been occurring is Canada. Here's the latest, the Notre Dame des Sept Allégresses Church, in Trois-Rivières, Canada:


This is a strange one given that it had already been sold and was in the process of being converted into apartments. So as a church, it was already 'lost'.

 
Also on last Thursday this one, in Poitiers, France. This church, built in the 11th century and consecrated in 1049, was a waypoint on the Camino de Santiago since the 12th century:

The church of Saint-Hilaire-le-Grand in Poitiers will probably never be seen again in its original state.
Listed as a Unesco World Heritage site, this jewel of Romanesque architecture was the target of an arson attack on Thursday.
The damage is irreparable.
Sadness and anger.

Interior and exterior photos on the French Wikipedia.

According to the following, it is not the first time fires or attempts to set them have occurred:

Poitiers [church] has already suffered several fires or attempted fires. The prefect of Vienne will proceed with the surveillance / protection of these places of worship.
It's unbelievable that the police should be mobilized to protect our heritage.
 
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