I have only seen the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris from a distance and in pictures, but I will never forget the sense of dread and grief that I felt watching the fire engulf this treasure of Christian and Western culture five years ago.
On Saturday, Notre Dame will reopen for the first time since that devastating fire in April 2019. Its iconic Gothic ceiling is now rebuilt in exactly the same way it was first built 800 years ago. The organ that was silenced by the conflagration will once again bellow its powerful notes that echo through the magnificent church, which stands as a monument to French and Christian history and culture. The newly restored and cleaned limestone gleams with a brilliance not seen in centuries.
In the aftermath of the fire, there was a concerted push to “update” Notre Dame into a building for the modern age. Architects and artists shared renderings of a new roof and spire that would give this medieval cathedral a modern twist full of glass and steel.
The fact that these ideas were summarily dismissed was a notable victory in that it showed that many still value timeless beauty, even if most people have largely ignored or forgotten what inspired that beauty.
Not six months ago, France’s cultural decay was on full display for the world to see. The city of Paris hosted the 2024 Olympics and featured an opening ceremony that openly mocked Christianity and glamorized lust.
Notre Dame stands as the antithesis of that hedonistic display. It is a place that, more than any other, exemplifies the history of France. It has seen kings live and die, wars won and lost, and a revolution among the French people that changed France and the world forever. It is the place that inspired the writings of Victor Hugo, where Napoleon Bonaparte was crowned emperor in the early 19th century, and in 1970, was the site of the funeral of Charles De Gaulle, the father of modern-day France.
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The reopening of this great cathedral is a triumph of that history and culture in a day and age where building and preserving beautiful things is no longer celebrated. Ugly monuments to narcissism and modernity are a dime a dozen, but monuments such as Notre Dame that celebrated a national culture and identity dedicated to God have been reduced to relics of bygone eras.
But on Saturday, Notre Dame will be celebrated for what it is: A treasured icon of France, a glorious house of Christian worship, and a towering achievement of engineering and artistry that will endure for centuries more.
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
