The University of Notre Dame in Indiana is donating $100,000 toward the renovation of the landmark Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, according to a statement post on the school’s website today.
“At the direction of Father Jenkins, the University will donate $100,000 toward the renovation of the cathedral. In addition, the bells of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the Notre Dame campus will toll 50 times — representing the 50 Hail Marys of Our Lady’s rosary — at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 16, to mark the start of the rebuilding process for the cathedral,” the statement reads.
There is no direct connection between the cathedral and the university.
French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking in a televised address to the nation, said he wants the Notre Dame Cathedral to be rebuilt in five years.
“The fire of Notre Dame reminds us that our story never ends. And that we will always have challenges to overcome. What we believe to be indestructible can also be touched,” Macron said.
French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to rebuild the cathedral of Notre Dame “even more beautiful."
In a televised address to the nation, Macron said he shared in the nation’s sorrow and hope for the future.
“We will make the Cathedral of Notre Dame even more beautiful. We can do this,” he said.
Macron said there will be time for reflection and then action.
Jean-Marc Fournier, the chaplain of Paris fire service, entered the cathedral with firefighters to help salvage some of the priceless artifacts held in the building, the Paris 15th district mayor Philippe Goujon told reporters on Tuesday.
Fournier had previously held prayers and assisted victims after terrorists killed 130 people in attacks throughout the French capital in November 2015.
They include the Crown of Thorns, which some believe was placed on the head of Christ and which the cathedral calls its "most precious and most venerated relic."
He has been praised as a hero throughout social media for his bravery after Etienne Loraillère, the director of the French Catholic television network KTO, posted a picture of Fournier and commended the chaplain.
The full restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral will take between “10 to 15 years," according to Frédéric Létoffé, the head of the group of companies for the Restoration of Historic Monuments.
Létoffé, speaking at a news conference in Paris on Tuesday, said the site will need to be secured before any restoration work can take place.
“This will require a lot of work since, beyond shoring and reinforcement, it will be necessary to build a scaffolding with an umbrella to be able to cover the entire roof that went missing, to ensure protection against weathering" he said.
As Notre Dame Cathedral burned, Cristina Correa Freile channeled her own emotion by imagining how the church's most famous fictional denizen — its hunchbacked bell ringer — might have responded to the calamity.
The physically deformed Quasimodo is the central character of Victor Hugo's 1831 novel, "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," which tells the tale of his obsession with the beautiful Esmeralda. The story was told on the big screen in 1939, then Disney remade it in 1996 as a cartoon.
President Trump spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron in a phone call this morning to offer condolences for the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.
"The United States stands with French citizens, the city of Paris, and the millions of visitors from around the world who have sought solace in that iconic structure," she said.
"The Cathedral has served as a spiritual home for almost a millennium, and we are saddened to witness the damage to this architectural masterpiece. Notre Dame will continue to serve as a symbol of France, including its freedom of religion and democracy. France is the oldest ally of the United States, and we remember with grateful hearts the tolling of Notre Dame’s bells on September 12, 2001, in solemn recognition of the tragic September 11th attacks on American soil. Those bells will sound again. We stand with France today and offer our assistance in the rehabilitation of this irreplaceable symbol of Western civilization. Vive la France!"
There are not any trees in France that are large enough to replace the ancient Beachwood beams that burned in the Notre Dame fire, Bertrand de Feydeau, vice president of the French Heritage Foundation (Fondation du Patrimoine), told CNN.
“The roof was made of beechwood beams over 800 years ago. There are no longer trees of that size in France,” he said.
Asked if any trees in Europe were big enough for the beams and could be imported to Paris, he said, “I don’t know.”