Notre-Dame: The restoration of the heart of France – and the miraculous rescue of the Crown of Thorns
It wasn’t just Notre-Dame Cathedral that burned, it was the very heart of France, they say.
Parisians wept as they watched the catastrophe unfold, fearing for the lives of worshippers – and the survival of one of the most holy relics in the world.
Firefighters worked tirelessly to contain the blaze and save as much of the iconic building as they could, even as they contended with molten lead and billowing smoke.
Miraculously, no one died in the fire and the Crown of Thorns relic – whose exact location inside Notre-Dame was a secret known only to a few – was found and carried to safety.
Smoke billows as fire engulfs the spire. Pic: Reuters
On the evening of 15 April 2019, a pinnacle of human achievement went up in flames. The restoration of the cathedral in just five years is yet another testament to the skills of master craftsmen, and the generosity of those who donated to the project.
“Those pictures are still harrowing and the moving footage of the disaster still breaks my heart,” says Dr Emily Guerry, a tutor in medieval history at the University of Oxford.
“It has a place in lots of people’s hearts,” she says. “It’s a place where thousands and maybe millions have found succour over the years, both as a real place they visited and as an idea that they’ve explored through literature.”
Flames and smoke rise from Notre-Dame. Pic: AP
The altar of Notre-Dame following the fire. Pic: Reuters
President Emmanuel Macron decreed that instead of decades, the cathedral would be restored in just five years. An extraordinarily complex project had been made even harder by a deadline.
Not only was so much lost, but melting lead had sent plumes of lead dust into the air, covering much of the site in toxic dust. The clean-up required to make the cathedral safe would be considerable.
But as chief architect Philippe Villeneuve looked at the wreckage, he felt a flash of hope.
“All the stained-glass windows were spared, the great organ, the furniture, the paintings – everything was intact,” he realised. “It was doable.”
Miraculously, the stained glass windows survived the fire. Pic: AP
But it wasn’t just furnishings and features that were saved by firefighters – an extraordinary rescue mission salvaged the holy Crown of Thorns relic from the flames.
Dr Guerry, an expert on both Gothic architecture (of which Notre-Dame is the defining example) and medieval relics, says the Crown is “beyond value”.
Many Christians believe it is the same crown that the Bible says was placed on Jesus’s head before the crucifixion.
The holy Crown of Thorns relic was rescued from the blaze. Pic: Reuters
French President Emmanuel Macron visits the cathedral last month. Pic: Reuters
“It’s not just locked in the treasury, it’s kept in a very secret place that I think only one or two people know about,” she tells Sky News.
“So when the fire brigade was trying to evacuate the relics, they got everything out but the Crown of Thorns, because they couldn’t find it.”
One firefighter inadvertently grabbed a decoy copy of the crown before going back in through the ash clouds and found the relic, under directions from an official who knew where it was.
Read more:
First glimpse inside restored Notre-Dame
Photos show Notre-Dame restoration work
Diplomatic opportunities at cathedral reopening
The restored nave of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris. Pic: Reuters
Now, after five years, the cathedral is restored and ready for visitors. And some see it as better than ever.
“It’s horrible to say [of the fire], but every cloud has a silver lining,” Mr Villeneuve says, smiling. “The stone is luminous now. It almost glows.”
The painstaking process of scrubbing every surface free of lead dust exposed a brightness not seen for centuries.
“I’m excited to be sort of transported in time by being inside Notre-Dame,” Dr Guerry says, looking forward to her visit later this month. “It’s like walking back into the 12th century.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
First look at restored Notre-Dame
Indeed, as he walked through the medieval wooden beams of the reconstructed framework – so complicated it is known as the “forest” – Mr Villeneuve remarked he felt the work was so seamless the inferno might never have happened.
“If I can make [cathedral visitors] doubt there was ever a fire, then I’ve erased the horror,” he says.
Notre-Dame officially reopens this weekend, with public access from Sunday. Such is the demand that visitors are recommended to book timeslots online on the cathedral’s website.
World
Donald Trump ambushes South African president at White House meeting by playing video alleging ‘genocide’
Donald Trump has ambushed South Africa’s president during a White House meeting by playing a video purportedly showing evidence of a “genocide” of white farmers in the African country.
The US president, who was hosting leader Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office, said the footage showed the graves of more than a thousand white farmers and “it’s a terrible sight… I’ve never seen anything like it. Those people are all killed”.
After an initial friendly chat where Mr Trump complimented South African golfers in the room, a montage of clips was played as Mr Ramaphosa sat quietly and mostly expressionless. He later said: “I’d like to know where that is because this [the alleged burial site in the video] I’ve never seen”.
Donald Trump meets Cyril Ramaphosa in the Oval Office. Pic: AP
The lights were dimmed in the Oval Office as the videos were shown, including of South African officials allegedly calling for violence against white farmers.
The scene in the heart of the White House administration was reminiscent of Mr Trump’s ambush of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in February.
But later, as he left after around three hours at the White House, Mr Ramaphosa insisted his meeting with Mr Trump went “very well”.
The White House’s official account on X posted the footage that was shown in the Oval Office, saying it was “proof of persecution in South Africa”.
South Africa has rejected the allegation that white people are disproportionately targeted by crime.
The clips included one of a communist politician playing a controversial anti-apartheid song that includes lyrics about killing a farmer.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Watch the full video
Mr Trump accused South Africa of failing to address the killing of white farmers.
“We have many people that feel they’re being persecuted, and they’re coming to the United States. So we take from many… locations, if we feel there’s persecution or genocide going on,” the US president said, referring specifically to white farmers.
He added: “People are fleeing South Africa for their own safety. Their land is being confiscated and in many cases they’re being killed.”
Alluding to people in the videos, Mr Trump said: “These are people that are officials and they’re saying… kill the white farmer and take their land.”
The US president then displayed printed copies of news articles that he said showed white South Africans who had been killed, saying “death, death” as he flipped through them.
He added of one article: “Here’s burial sites all over the place, these are all white farmers that are being buried.”
Mr Trump and Mr Ramaphosa look towards a screen where videos were played. Pic: Reuters
South African leader rejects allegations
Mr Ramaphosa pushed back against Mr Trump’s accusations, by responding: “What you saw, the speeches that were being made, that is not government policy. We have a multi-party democracy in South Africa that allows people to express themselves, political parties to adhere to various policies.
“And in many cases, or in some cases, those policies do not go along with government policy.
“Our government policy is completely, completely against what he [a person in the video montage] was saying, even in the parliament. And they are a small minority party which is allowed to exist in terms of our constitution.”
Read more from Sky News:
Ex-Ukrainian politician living abroad shot dead on school run
The soldiers faced with ‘raining bullets’ from violent gangs
Mr Ramaphosa also said of the behaviour alleged by Mr Trump: “We are completely opposed to that.”
The South African leader said there was crime in his country, and the majority of victims were black. Mr Trump cut him off and said: “The farmers are not black.” The South African president responded: “These are concerns we are willing to talk to you about.”
A video was played during the White House meeting. Pic: AP
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Mr Trump has cancelled aid, expelled South Africa’s ambassador and offered refuge to white minority Afrikaners based on racial discrimination claims which Pretoria says are baseless.
Experts in South Africa have said there is no evidence of white people being targeted, although farmers of all races are victims of violent home invasions in a country that suffers from a very high crime rate.
Vladimir Putin has visited Kursk for the first time since his troops ejected Ukrainian forces from the Russian city.
The Russian president met with volunteer organisations and visited a nuclear power plant in the region on Tuesday, the Kremlin said.
Mr Putin said late last month that his forces had ejected Ukrainian troops from the Kursk region, which ended the largest incursion into Russian territory since the Second World War.
Vladimir Putin during his visit in the Kursk region on Tuesday. Pic: Kremlin News/Telegram
Mr Putin visited a nuclear power plant. Pic: Kremlin.ru/Reuters
Ukraine launched its attack in August last year, using swarms of drones and heavy Western weaponry to smash through the Russian border, controlling nearly 540sq m (5,813sq ft) of Kursk at the height of the incursion.
More than 159 Ukrainian drones were shot down over Russian territory, Russia’s defence ministry said on Wednesday.
The majority were over Russia’s western regions, but at least six drones were shot down over the densely populated Moscow region, the ministry added.
The visit in the Kursk region comes as a Russian missile attack killed six soldiers and injured 10 more during training in the Sumy region of Ukraine, according to the country’s national guard.
The commander of the unit has been suspended and an internal investigation has been launched.
The Russian president met with volunteer organisations. Pic: Kremlin News/Telegram
Russia’s defence ministry claimed the attack on the training camp in northeastern Ukraine killed up to 70 Ukrainian servicemen, including 20 instructors.
The attack comes after US President Donald Trump spoke to both Mr Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy, urging them to restart ceasefire talks.
Read more from Sky News:
Fresh UK and EU sanctions on Russia announced
British doctor in Gaza describes horror
But German defence minister Boris Pistorius said on Wednesday that Mr Trump misjudged his influence on Mr Putin after the call between the American and Russian leaders yielded no progress in Ukraine peace talks.
Europe has since announced new sanctions on Russia over the war in Ukraine. Mr Pistorius said it remained to be seen whether the US would join those measures.
Three people have died after severe thunderstorms caused flooding in the Var region of southeastern France, according to reports.
The rain has also caused widespread damage as Meteo-France, the country’s national weather agency, placed the region under an orange alert for rain, flooding and thunderstorms, French broadcaster BFM TV reported.
Two of those who died were an elderly couple who were in their car as it was swept away by floodwaters in the seaside town of Le Lavandou, France 24 reported.
Meanwhile, the gendarmerie said around 2.30pm local time (1:30pm UK time) that a person had been found drowned in their vehicle in the commune of Vidauban.
Le Lavandou and the commune of Bormes-les-Mimosas were particularly hard hit by the storms.
Gil Bernardi, mayor of Le Lavandou, said during a press conference: “The roads, the bridges, the paving stones, there is no more electricity, water, or wastewater treatment plant. The shock is significant because the phenomenon is truly violent and incomprehensible.
“As we speak, an entire part of the commune is inaccessible.”
Power and water outages were also reported in the town of Cavaliere where 250mm of rain fell in the space of one hour.
A parking lot collapsed in the town, and dozens of people were rescued, according to the authorities.
Around 200 firefighters and 35 gendarmes have reportedly been responding to the floods in Var.
Meteo-France had recorded cumulative rainfall exceeding 10cm as of 10am local time.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway