By Charly SHELTON

Notre Dame de Paris began construction in April 1163. It occupied the site on the Île de la Cité, which was the former home to a Gallo-Roman temple dedicated to Jupiter, and then four different churches before the construction of the massive French Gothic Cathedral. The Cathedral survived the French Revolution’s desecration of the sculpted art, the gunfire and bombs of World War II, and was the site of important moments in human history like the coronation of Emperor Napoleon and of English King Henry VI. And on Monday, it burned.

The Cathedral caught fire from unknown causes (as of press time), though supposedly from some renovation activity, and burned for several hours. The roof caved in and the wooden spire collapsed after burning for just 13 minutes. Fears continue that even the stone may crumble under the weight of the bell that was supported by a wooden frame in danger of burning. And yes, that’s Quasimodo’s bell.

This is a massive loss for humanity. Though it is a building for worship of the Christian faith, this building is not only a Christian relic and, consequently, not exclusively a Christian loss. It is a relic of human history. It reflects the determination of the people of the 12th century to build something this magnificent with technology that we, today, would call limited. No trucks, no cranes, no water jets to cut stones, just faith that they could do it then employing good, old fashioned human ingenuity. It was the most spectacular Cathedral in Europe at the time and may still be to this day. A testament to the human spirit.

In addition, as it was one of the most important Christian buildings in the world second only to St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, it housed treasures of the Christian faith like a shard of the True Cross, the cross that Jesus was crucified on, and the Crown of Thorns, both of which were, fortunately, saved. These also belong to all humans as they played important parts in human culture everywhere. Much like the Declaration of Independence doesn’t belong just to Americans, but to people in societies everywhere because no group of humans is so remote that they have not been impacted by the results of what the Declaration achieved. It changed the way we talk about government and America changed what the Western world saw as acceptable for other countries to abide. Similarly, no group of humans is so remote that it has not been impacted by the followers of Christ. These relics are important as mementos of the human journey, from stepping out of Africa 200,000 years ago and arriving where we are now, spread to every corner of the world. They are what the story, history, is built upon.

At the CV Weekly, our hearts go out to the people of the world for this loss, as it affected all humans who share this common history. We are one people and we feel one loss.

  Charly Shelton