Notre Dame faces Another Disaster: The Threat of an Unwanted Legacy
We live in a Facebook world where everyone seeks to impress. However, most people are content to leave a superficial impact that takes little effort. Indeed, authentic greatness requires too much of a lifelong struggle for such trivial souls. Instead, they look to leave some legacy that might consist of a gift or an enduring work that carves one’s memory in stone.
This kind of legacy hunting is causing controversy as France celebrates the splendid restoration of Notre Dame, which was damaged by a 2019 fire. French President Emmanual Macron wants to immortalize his role in the project—not in stone but in glass.
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Replacing the Undamaged Stained-Glass Windows
New stained-glass windows are slated to be installed in six side chapels in the south aisle of the cathedral’s nave. None of the old windows were damaged in any way by the fire. However, the president wants to replace them with more contemporary designs, which will highlight his role in the restoration.
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Notre-Dame à l’identique
Ironically, the government is now pushing this project ahead. Officials learned well that the French resent such changes. Modern design proposals for the reconstruction of the roof after the fire resulted in a massive rejection of anything that would have radically changed the medieval cathedral’s appearance. After much public protest and petitions that collected tens of thousands of signatures, officials decided to rebuild a l’identique, just as it was before the disaster. In this sense, the government saved the building from the ravages of a postmodern wreckavation.
Similar devastation was planned for an indoor refurbishing under the jurisdiction of Church officials. They wanted to update the medieval décor with more modern designs.
While some proposals were rejected, the planners succeeded in changing the main altar and sanctuary furnishings to reflect postmodern fantasies, a great misfortune. Garish vestments designed by fashion houses further marred the opening ceremony on December 8.
Read also: Notre Dame: Where All Unite Around Our Lady
Threat of Modernisation
The government now threatens to put its ugly mark on the building by replacing nineteenth-century stained-glass windows developed by the famed architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc, who designed the cathedral’s Gothic spire.
He built the towering windows to create harmony and balance in the side chapels by allowing light to stream into a shadowy section of the nave. The light guides the eye to the more elaborate stained glass in the choir. Thus, the arrangements fit into a harmonious scheme that highlights the sublime aspects of the building.
On the contrary, the unpopular president’s new contemporary design consists of modernistic forms with yellow, pink and green stained glass that clash with the cathedral’s serious tones.
Citizens want their Heritage
The leaked news of the designs has prompted many protests from French citizens who want to prevent a new devastation—this one man-made—to the restored edifice.
More than 275,000 signatures have been gathered to protest the move. Preservationists claim that the perfectly good stained-glass windows are protected by the country’s heritage rules. Removing them would counter laws and charters that conserve historic buildings in Europe.
France’s National Heritage and Architecture Commission unanimously voted against the president’s proposal, lending a powerful voice to the opposition.
Despite all protests, President Macron insists on proceeding with the project, come what may. He seems intent upon leaving a legacy—a sad one, registered with a secular and ugly disfigurement of the sacred building. The windows could be installed as early as the end of 2026 at a cost of $4.2 million.
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‘Expensive Vandalism’
However, some protesters are initiating court cases to stop the move while lawmakers are also opposing what they call “expensive vandalism” to the venerable building.
The opposition will likely spread worldwide since many Catholics and non-Catholics consider Notre Dame to belong to everyone. Few thought that after the splendorous restoration, they would have to fight again to save Notre Dame’s integrity.
This uproar is because of the president’s trivial legacy that he is imposing upon the nation. How different it is from the thousands of medieval artisans who left their marks upon the church anonymously without any concern for personal glory. They did all to give praise and glory to Our Lady, and as a result, everything turned out harmonious and beautiful. Notre Dame is the symbol of France and the delight of the world.