Notre Dame is burning. It’s really bad. Really bad. They think it might have started with some scaffolding. I can’t stop crying long enough to see what I am typing. This is heartbreaking. There is no way to get all the fire trucks they would need to the church.
Can’t stop crying. OMG. The spire has fallen. I’m sitting here holding a little gargoyle that I bought there like an idiot. I can’t imagine how this could ever happen. Can’t stop crying.
I thought of you when pictures of this started showing up ? . I remember you talking about Paris and your experiences there. This is on our bucket list
I’ve been noticing this all over social media. I really hope no one’s been injured.
This breaks my heart. It was just over six months ago that the National Museum of Brazil in Rio was destroyed and now this. I was hoping they’d be able to keep damage to a minimum, but it’s gone far beyond that. I just saw a video of the spire collapsing, and it’s devastating.
There is tiny bit of good news. Apparently the two towers have not been destroyed and a lot of the art work was saved. There will be a huge amount of time and money needed to restore this monument, but the French premier has pledged that it will be done. I’m not Catholic, but my heart breaks for the nightmarish fire we all saw today, and I’ll be donating towards the restoration.
EnglishRose, this is heart wrenching. i was crying as a friend texted saying when we cry over ‘events’ like this it is how we let out our frustrations we’ve built up in our own lives. Our friendship may never be the same, the tears are not about me. *50 years Notre’ Dame has been protected and cherished by so many.
I’m not Catholic even though my boys attended Catholic schools. I don’t see it as just a Catholic church but as a Church for all people, a visual testimony to generations of mans appreciation and heroic stance to defend it. So many have died in its 800 years so it stands today for all the world.
I stopped watching before the spire fell.
oops… 850 years NOT 50 it has been protected
This is SO sad. I am not Catholic and I have never been there but this is depressing. Its going to be almost impossible to control this. So much wood, so much air. And the stone around the outside will retain the heat. I hope the walls stay standing. Its just crazy.
It’s so beautiful. I haven’t been to Paris in a while but always stopped there.
This is just devastating! TT – Paris is my favorite city too. I am watching CNN, getting no work done, and reminiscing of every time I have been to Notre Dame. I am just praying that now that the roof is gone, the walls can remain standing.
My heart is breaking every time a pundit refers to Notre Dame in the past tense.
Notre’ Dame has been through other tragedys, it will be rebuilt.
I agree. It will be a sadly unfortunate part of her history, but totally agree. She will be rebuilt.
This is gut wrenching!!!
I am thankful there appear to be no injuries. As devastating as it is to me, watching the sea of people staring at the fire shows what a loss this is for Paris. These images and this day will be stamped on my heart with other tragic days of immeasurable loss.
You cannot watch coverage without weeping. Unreal.
Just yesterday, I came across my mom’s travel journal from when we traveled to Paris together. She said words couldn’t describe the sense of history, the beauty and reverence she experienced there. I agree. My God. What a massive loss.
FYI MSNBC has the coverage where you least want to punch the newsperson in the face for saying stupid shit.
That’s what I’m watching, too.
I find that true of MSNBC’s coverage on most everything!
like everyone, i cannot stop crying. i am a catholic, and was lucky many years ago to visit on two different occasions. when the spire went, i was holding my breath. my oldest daughter, emailed me pics of
she and her husband, on their second visit, just last year. i watched msnbc all day. and could not miss
how cris como on his show on cnn at 9 pm. had been crying as well. so sad.
I wasn’t in a place to do anymore posts after I saw the spire fall. It’s still a struggle today. I’m behind on recaps and had to just go walk for over an hour today to try to get my head on straight enough to function today.
Watching people’s videos on Twitter – people clustered on rooftops weeping as the flames rise like prayers. Then the great spire comes down, and a great cry rises up from the crowd. Such anguish, as the heart of Paris stops beating.
Beautifully said.
I was holding it together until I read this!
I have a pillow with a quote supposedly from Audrey Hepburn, “Paris is always a good idea.” One of the favorite gifts I’ve ever given was a small English-French dictionary for my elder granddaughter on the plane taking us to London. She did not know that her grandfather & I had also scheduled a quick trip to Paris via the Chunnel during her Spring Break vacation abroad. Paris is a place you want to share with someone you love. Years later I introduced my best friend to Paris after his non-traveling wife died. (Slightly complicated here–she was my best friend for 56 years; he was my late husband’s best friend after we married. Our spouses died a year apart, so even though we live on different coasts we inherited each other as best friends, sort of a natural thing as we went to high school together & used to teach on the same university faculty. In fact, in the morning I am flying out for a class event & staying at his house for a week for various friend get-togethers. Except for the last year since I remarried, we traveled the world together from Iceland to the Galapagos to Outer Mongolia, all strictly as the best friends we’ve remained.) Anyway, I agree with my pillow, Paris is still going to be a good idea, so if you haven’t yet been there, start making your plans, & if you have already visited, plan to go again. I highly recommend the chocolate tour.
You’re the coolest MizGrandma! Thank you for sharing. Safe travels.
Ugh! I visited the Cathedral on a trip to Paris in 2010. I climbed up those winding stairs to the very top and nearly collapsed I was so out of shape. But it was worth every labored breath. A very sad day.
So heartbreaking, they said it was closed, thank fully.. I pray this was an accident.. ????????????
I need the NBC News guy to STFU. He doesn’t even know which window he is looking at. JUST STOP TALKING.
Why can’t we get European Channels in this godforsaken country.
Jake Tapper at CNN is doing a decent job – I’m listening off an on at work. He’s had the French Ambassador on, and they’ve managed to get eye witnesses (tourists) on the phone. He’s also been good about explaining why the fire is particularly difficult to fight and dangerous for the neighborhood, etc. He’s talked about artifacts, but is not trying to talk out of his ass if he doesn’t know.
Because the US education system, media, protectionist policies etc is pretty internally focused! Even sport – I mean what other country calls a ballgame the “World Series “when only one country participates?
The exhibition at the Arizona Memorial inOahu announced that WW2 began in 1942 when i was first there in 2005 – for you guys maybe , but for the rest of us it was September 1st 1939
The only times Australia was on the news when a) I was in the US was in 2005 when we rated as the 2nd most generous in charity donations per person behind Sweden after the Tsunami and you guys weren’t in the top 10 & pissed about the criticism and b) during the terrible QLD floods of 2014 when everyone was ver lovely asking me about my family and concerned for the safety – particularly when I was in New Orleans.
The US is on our news every day at present for reasons I probably don’t have to explain…..
And in this country every kid knows their Miranda Rights, but we don’t have them, so the answer is balance is what is needed for us all I think. 🙂
I’m so upset – today has been shitty anyway.
If you are on Facebook, Rick Steves describes why Notre Dame de Paris (Our Lady of Paris) was so special. Began as an act of faith by people who KNEW they would never see it finished, who often worked for free, to create something so beautiful and inspiring that their ever so great grandchildren could worship there – it was in the very air of the place.
The fact that has survived so many things – the French Revolution, Napoleon, both World Wars, etc. to be brought down in this way?
BBC has best coverage at the moment.
Yes! BBC is doing a good job, watching at work. Thought of you when it first happened. Hugs.
Also, via “France 24 English” on Twitter, which links to live non-American coverage.
The twelve apostles that surrounded the spire were removed three days ago for restoration. So some good news in all of this. Even without them being removed, they were copper so probably would have survived anyway. Other statues were also removed for restoration.
Thank goodness they were removed… you can melt copper wire with a simple blow torch or in a backyard bonfire. The spire was seemingly at the heart of the flames; the brick walls acted like an oven as it was according to the reports I heard.
Ana Navarro tweeted some pictures taken from the inside during the fire. Part of the inside roof collapsed and you would be able to see the sky except for the scaffolding, etc. all in flames.
This is so heartbreaking. Notre Dame was one of the highlights on my trip there. I’m so thankful I got to see it in all it’s glory.
My families church was based on Notre Dame. I feel like this is 911 all over again. Good to know about the twelve apostles and statues. Tuning into BBC now-
Heartbreaking. My niece is headed to Paris next month for a graduation gift. We talked about her must see destinations. I told her how beautiful Notre Dame is. Now she won’t get to see it. My sister’s confirmation name was Joan after Joan D’Arc. We were so excited to visit ND when we were kids. Just tragic. Thank God they had removed the statutes of the Apostles.
Statues grrrrr.
Horrific. Too sad. I fear this was terrorism considering the timing
Oh my God, I can’t believe this?.I am buried in the woods of Shenandoah valley and haven’t had the time to check out what’s going on around me. Thanks for this site as my go to place for entertainment.
I am devastated. As an Australian, most buildings here are less than 50 – 100 years old. I never knew how I could be moved by simply sitting quietly in that big, stunning place. As a Catholic, I wept as I sat there, looking into what seemed the endless sky of gothic beauty above.
The Vatican has risen again and again through war and turmoil, so it is my hope she will be restored. It has been 18 years since I dabbed that holy water and crossed myself looking up in wonder, and I always saw myself coming back again and again, but life takes over. The thought of all that priceless art though, that pierces my soul. Paris becomes a part of you and today that part hurts.
Thanks for a bit of good news in the updates in the comments TT!
One of the few personal items I have in my transitional room. Bought for a couple dollars at the homeless thrift store. Minature Notre Dame de Paris.
Parisians singing Ave Maria in the streets- I’m crying (at work ).
That shredded me, it was so very touching (and slightly eerie.) So beautiful, but it made me cry. I loved going to Notre Dame when I would go to Paris. So elegant and detailed.
This breaks my heart, the history, the artifacts, just everything is irreplaceable. I just watched in awe for several hours, I finally had to turn off the tv and read and I have even avoided being online until just now. I am so hoping that Christ’s crown of thorns is safe.
It had been removed too! ??
I posted this on Facebook in regards to an article about how the area called the “Forest” is completely lost (The forest is the woodwork and beams that were built from about 52 acres of woods)
“Wood, of course, is a renewable resource. But the trees aren’t the REAL story. This wasn’t raw wood – it was wood crafted by skilled workers, starting over 850 years ago, with trees that were also old. (how does wood floors and railings even feel under your fingertips after 800 years, knowing someone created them by hand
?) What was really lost was the time and energy put into this space by the people of Paris – Wikipedia fails for once. It neglects to discuss who built and invested in Notre Dame. The Kings of France were not laid to rest in this cathedral for a reason… it was built for the people, by the people. Often the workers were unpaid, and many did this work knowing they would not live to see its completion. Various groups donated to it – apparently the local prostitutes formed a guild and donated either a chalice or a window or both. It was decided to accept all gifts without fanfare. The cathedral itself was not owned by the Church, FYI, but by France. I get excited by our buildings that are just slightly over 50 and 100 years old – the loss of such an old, still functional, still used space is unfathomable. I’m so glad I was lucky enough to visit in 2004.”
As I watched footage today, I thought of all the work put in to this building as energy… energy that was trapped in the wood structure, the stones, the lead roof. There was one brief shot of the flames and heat reaching the heavens, and I thought of the energy and prayers that had been put into this place by all those workers over the centuries – many of them volunteers dreaming of their ever so great grandchildren worshiping in this cathedra – being released to the heavens. In a very weird way, it gave me comfort. As the President of France promises that it will be rebuilt, I thought perhaps it is time for some new energy to be invested in such a place… that we need a reminder of doing work we may never see the end results of is sitill worthy of doing.
Don’t mind me… I cracked open some whiskey tonight.
I really like and appreciate your post Erica. This building is a testament to our humanity in more ways we can count.
Many years ago I read “Pillar’s of the earth”, a fictionalized story about the building of a great Cathedral in the dark to middle ages, I couldn’t put it down! I still recommend to my younger friends.
I live in France and it felt devastating to watch the news, I was waiting for Macron’s important speech that was supposed to start at 8 pm, the fire begun 15 minutes before if I got it right.
Already there are people willing to invest a lot of money to Notre Dame privately.
The LVMH Group has already committed €200 million for repair and restoration.
As a Catholic, this is as devastating as it gets.