A thought for your day, with my good wishes …
Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.
― Desmond Tutu
Hello, dear readers. I offer this quote of the day, my first since a devastating family loss last spring, along with images I see as reflecting hope: the restoration of Paris’ Notre-Dame Cathedral. We’ve made visits in years past, and I’ve used my photographs of its beautiful windows, columns and more in making Christmas cards.
The cathedral is also known as Notre Dame de Paris, or Our Lady of Paris. It’s hard to believe it’s been almost five years since fire partially destroyed the cathedral’s upper levels; think of all that’s gone on in the world, and all you’ve experienced, since April 15, 2019.
At the tail end of my last business trip of 2023, I spent time in Paris last month. While the City of Lights offers a ridiculous number of tempting sights and experiences, it’s a return to Notre Dame that was my first priority after settling in following my train ride from Rotterdam (I’d presented the previous afternoon for IMA Netherlands‘ members and their guests, and then joined in their wonderful Christmas party).
Travelling by train from one European country to another can be somewhat akin to driving from our home in Vancouver to Kelowna or some other city within our province of BC, so I was nicely settled in to my Paris hotel by late afternoon. As dusk was falling, I stepped outside the hotel into the nearby Metro.
Umbrella in hand, as the skies were watering the city as though it was a parched orchard, I did make brief detours, drawn first by a local plant market and its Christmas trees and charming decor, and then by the lights of the Christmas market (marche) at the nearby Place de L’hôtel de Ville. With the rain temporarily easing, I continued on my way to the magnificent cathedral.
This was a moving sight. Even from street level, in the rain and early evening light, the restoration in progress was a treat for the eyes and the spirit. Along the northern façade, there’s signage offering all manner of statistics, information and photographs.
I rounded to corner and emerged on the square/parvis facing the western façade … and what a sight.
the western façade, Dec 2023
initial construction of this façade began in the year 1200
You’ll see below my photos of people who, like me, climbed platform steps to absorb the starkness of the building, bereft of stained glass in its western rose window, and scaffolding representative of the work underway. I took these – and numerous other – photos just four days after the cathedral’s spire and cross had been erected, and six days before the new golden rooster (cockerel) was placed atop the spire.
the West Rose window
We’re told the rooster is symbolic to the French. In the aftermath of the 2019 fire, it was thought the rooster and relics contained within it had burned, yet all were recovered.
The original rooster was too badly damaged to be restored to its original roost, and it will be displayed in a new museum at the city’s Hôtel-Dieu.
The new rooster, with its golden “wings of fire”, is seen as a promise of hope the cathedral can and will, like the phoenix, be reborn from ashes. The new rooster contains the three relics recovered from the fire, along with names of those who were part of the reconstruction, and details of the December 2023 installation. This rooster’s perch atop the spire is symbolic of resilience as well as hope.
I’ll be back in Paris this April
Notre Dame has been part of Paris since 1163, when construction began on its Ile de la Cité site. Coincidentally, I’ll be in the city on the fifth anniversary of the fire, which parishioners and numerous other Parisians will mark. I look forward to checking in on continued restoration progress.
Plans are underway to reopen Notre Dame on December 8, 2024, and to complete redevelopment of the the courtyard and landscaping in 2027. This grand dame of Paris, and of our planet, is coming back from devastation. Anyone looking for hope or inspiration may be well served by the resilience, determination and generosity – whether financial or in the form of myriad of areas of expertise, from people around the globe – underpinning Notre Dame’s restoration.
Thank you for respecting that these photos are ©2023 Shelagh Donnelly.
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