by Brett Manero
I was not present at the official reopening of Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral on December 7, 2024, but as a Catholic, its reopening has meaning for myself and for the universal Church. After the devastating fire of 2019 that destroyed its famous roof and spire, the Cathedral has been rebuilt and once again represents Paris and the people of France.
I can’t help but think of a quote by the Prophet Isaiah, speaking of a New Temple that is almost certainly fulfilled in the Church:
It shall come to pass in the latter days
that the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be raised above the hills;
and all the nations shall flow to it (Isaiah 2:2).
Curiously, the Prophet Micah, preaching at roughly the same time as Isaiah, says an identical prophecy in his book:
It shall come to pass in the latter days
that the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established as the highest of the mountains,
and shall be raised up above the hills;
and peoples shall flow to it (Micah 4:1).
What both Prophets are speaking of is the Church. The Church is the New Temple. Whereas the First and Second Temples of Jerusalem occupied a finite space in ancient Jerusalem, the Third Temple of the Church shall be universal, eternal, everywhere. Both Prophets use metaphorical language when speaking as the New Temple as a mountain – for the Church rightly helps us to ascend up the mountain of life into the Kingdom of Heaven. Perhaps cathedrals were built as the largest and most significant buildings of medieval cities because of these prophecies: not only does the Church spiritually help us to ascend into heaven, but literally the great cathedrals of Christendom would be observable from miles away from the cities. Notre Dame, like St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York, is a constant reminder of the journey of humanity back to the Garden of Eden.
But Notre Dame also has other significance as well. Not only does it represent the glory of the Catholic Church, but it also represents the identity of Parish and the nation of France. The “Church’s eldest daughter,” as the French nation has often been called, has a long and rich Catholic history. King St. Louis, St. Joan of Arc, St. Therese of Liseiux, and St. John Vianney are just a few of the countless saints produced in the French nation. And yet, France also has a terribly dark side in her history with regards to the Church: the French Revolution was a horrific attack on the Church, and like much of the Western world, France has grown increasingly secular especially in the decades following the Second World War. Perhaps the traumatic experiences of both World Wars – the First, in which a shocking number of French men died, and the Second, which saw France occupied by the Nazis – shook French faith to the core and increased secular sentiments among the people. As is increasingly apparent in America, Church pews in France are mostly empty.
And yet, there was something remarkable in the fact that so many mourned the fire of Notre Dame in April of 2019. Crowds gathered to observe the fire from a distance, praying and singing hymns. French President Emmanuel Macron promised that night to rebuild the Cathedral. And why? What’s the point if secularism dominates French thinking and the Church represents an old relic of the past? Because the Cathedral also represent Paris and the people of Paris, I suppose, but I also like to think that the old Catholic faith, while dormant among the people of France, has not completely died.
President Macron made quite the show of the reopening, and rightly so. Prince William, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and even Donald Trump were in attendance. Macron said to his guests: “Tonight we can together share joy and pride. Long live Notre-Dame de Paris, long live the Republic and long live France” (“Notre Dame rises from the ashes as world leaders gather for grand reopening,” The Telegraph, December 7, 2024).
Amen to that. And how can France live long and prosper? Perhaps by not only rebuilding and celebrating the remarkable reconstruction of the Cathedral, but by filling the pews. By reevangelizing the nation. By the Church restoring trust among the people of France in the historic Church. By bringing the French people back to the Catholic faith, France can truly prosper indeed.
As the Prophets Isaiah and Micah said some 2,700 years ago, the Church will be the greatest of all mountains, leading us home to heaven. France shall be led home to heaven by finding its ancient faith once again.