Heart broken.
My prediction— it will be rebuilt through a combo of 3D printing and VR. so future generations will be able to experience it.
I’ll bet many are already working on it as we speak.
Next time it will melt rather than burn.
I’m heartbroken. I remember going in on my first trip to Paris and lighting a candle for a safe pregnancy for my sister ?
I haven’t been to Paris since I was 20! I was hoping to go back in the next few years to visit with my DH. There are very few things I remember of France, mostly just glimpses in my memory. But the one thing that stood out and I’ll always remember was Notre Dame and how in awe I was that it was 800 years old. It was my first time to Europe. I’m just devastated with everyone else.
It will be nice if it’s rebuilt of course, but it’s not the same.
I’ve been to Paris 9 times and always go to Notre Dame. I feel sick to my stomach.
So devastating. But they are reporting that they seem to have the fire under control, finally, and that the towers are safe.
I’m heartbroken, sickened, and in shock. One of the few French classics I read during my time in Paris was Hugo’s “Notre Dame de Paris,” knowing he wrote it inspired by the cathedral I always thought would persist as a link to that time and that tale, if not forever, then for as long as I was here. I cannot process this.
I remember a lecture at the Milan Cathedral on the differences between medieval stained glass and modern stained glass. IIRC, the techniques that made medieval stained glass so vibrant and with such deep rich colors have been lost.
I’ll be hunting the news for how the rose windows fared. Glass can withstand high heat but the lead channels between the panes, I don’t know.
For now this looks like the result of carelessness, perhaps by one of the workmen on the restoration job. How people could be so careless with something so precious is hard to fathom. Maybe it was an equipment malfunction. But hopefully it will lead to better safeguards of historical and artistic treasures in the future.
I’m not Catholic, and the first mass I ever experienced was at Notre Dame when I was a visiting teenager. The candles, the chanting, the whole experience… something I’ll never forget. Beyond sad.
The facade and the main towers were saved by the firefighters (a top professional brigade). The religious artifacts (crown, royal garments) were taken away. The top rose window has melted.
The president made a short speech after being briefed on location and hugged the mayor of Paris (his political rival) and the Archbishop. He announced the cathedral would be rebuilt. The 800-year old wood, of course, can’t be replaced.
There will be an official national collection started, open to all who want to contribute tomorrow. (They also said to be wary of unofficial Kickstarters).
Gut wrenching to watch. So thankful my family was able to see it. In shock.
Click on the pictures for detailed views of the architecture:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notre-Dame_de_Paris
I just read that the rose windows are 18th century with only a few panes remaining from the 1200’s, so they aren’t so ancient after all. That’s good because the colors can be more easily duplicated if the glass is newer rather than medieval. It will be beautiful again, maybe not in my lifetime, but someday.
The cathedral had details added as centuries went. Some of the flying buttresses were 19th century. So, there’ll be added 21st century add-ons.
There are still master Craftsmen in France. To become journeymen they need to practice all over the world - there may be some studying and building in the Us right now.
The Archbishop said that churches which wish to do so, can ring their bells in solidarity or as a call to prayers.
(It’s also poignant, because in the French tradition, during holy week, bells fly away to Rome to complain to the pope, then when they come back they ring joyously because Jesus has come back from the dead and in their joy they drop chocolate eggs everywhere in the fields. So there are no bells ringing from Thursday(? Wednesday?) to Saturday then on Sunday parents tell kids impatiently waiting for their chocolate eggs and chocolate hen hunt in the garden: “the bells have come, didn’t you hear them fly over?!” Les cloches sont passées!)
Sad to say, but I dont want to return to Paris now. Seeing the charred remains still standing would be too devastating.
My daughter is studying in Paris this semester, and I’m making my first-ever trip to France to visit her next month. I shouldn’t have waited 55 years. 
This is so poignant https://youtu.be/t__D-amj8BE
The bells are silenced for Good Friday. Ring again on Easter Sunday.
Man, this is devastating. I’m beyond grateful that by some incredible luck my girls and I were able to travel to Paris a few years ago.
@jonri: I’m guessing that’s the Catholic origin of the French tradition of bells flying to complain then coming back with chocolates.
I’ve felt gutted since first seeing the news. I have lovely memories of visits, many years ago, and hoped that one day we might take our children and their spouses. Just beyond sad.