The Burning of Notre Dame

Flames and smoke are seen billowing from the roof at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on April 15, 2019. A fire broke out at the landmark Notre-Dame Cathedral in central Paris, potentially involving renovation works being carried out at the site, the fire service said. Patrick Anidjar/AFP/Getty Images

Commentary

The burning of Notre Dame on April 15 was an awful loss, not only for the people of Paris, but for all of France. Indeed, a stunned world’s heart dropped in unison, and in real-time, with the dropping of that great spire, downward, out of sight into the flaming belly of the ancient Cathedral, as if into a great stone oven.