When Philippe Villeneuve was 16 years old, he made a model of the Cathedral of Notre Dame, a building that had captured his imagination since he was a boy. “Little did I know, when I was a kid, building the cathedral out of cardboard and paper, that one day I would be working on the real cathedral.” As the chief architect overseeing the rebuilding and restoration of the cathedral, which had been severely damaged by fire in 2019, he said, “When I laid the last stone in the vault in the north transept, it brought me back, and I saw myself as a kid again.”
Arguably the world’s most famous church and its greatest example of gothic architecture, Notre Dame cathedral was originally commissioned in 1163 and took about 180 years to complete. But the cathedral suffered damage many times over the centuries. In 1548, Calvinist Huguenots attacked the church and destroyed many of its statues, considering them idolatrous. The church was repaired and restored 50 years later. In the 17th and 18th centuries Notre Dame underwent what many consider several unfortunate baroque and neoclassical renovations before it was finally attacked, ransacked, and maliciously desecrated in 1793 by partisans of the French Revolution. It was Napoleon Bonaparte who protected the cathedral from being dismantled for building materials, desiring to crown himself emperor there in 1804. With the publication of Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1831 emerged a popular movement to restore the dilapidated building. These restorations were completed in 1864, done primarily by those who saw the church as an important symbol of the French nation, rather than a sanctuary for the worship of God who became incarnate through the consent of the Virgin Mary to save poor humanity from our sins, and to make all things new. Since then, Notre Dame has probably seen more tourists than pilgrims. Yet, the cathedral has retained its power to lift people’s minds to God and fill hearts with love for the mother of Our Lord.
In a recent interview of Villeneuve by Colm Flynn of EWTN, the architect was asked whether he’s a believer. He responded, saying: “You know, I spent five years saying nothing about it because I am a civil servant in a secular republic, and therefore I couldn’t say something like this. But now, I have to reveal that, yes. I have a particular devotion to the Virgin Mary. And, at the risk of sounding totally crazy, or like Joan of Arc, I never stopped feeling support from ‘up there.’ I don’t think this project would have been possible otherwise. I think that’s what gave me the strength and determination to always move forward because I knew that I was supported from ‘up there.’”
The history of Notre Dame Cathedral might be seen as an image of the Church, which endures through periods of glory and gloom, and is always in the process of renewal. As we begin a new year this week with the great Solemnity of Mary (1/1), may Our Lady’s intercession reawaken in us a living faith, like that which moved the hearts of those who built a great church in her honor 861 years ago.
posted 12/28/24
The Parish of St. Cecilia-St. Gabriel 