Paris in the Twilight of the Second Empire

Excellent images of Paris from the 1860s. I found the choice of background music somewhat distracting, but the mute button proved an easy remedy.

Paris 1900

Notre-Dame interior faces woke 'Disney' wreckovation

Paris' fire-ravaged Notre-Dame cathedral risks resembling a "politically correct Disneyland" under controversial plans for its renovation seen by the Daily Telegraph.

Critics have warned that the world-famous cathedral will be turned into an "experimental showroom" under plans to dramatically change the inside of the medieval building.

Under the proposed changes, confessional boxes, altars and classical sculptures will be replaced with modern art murals, and new sound and light effects to create “emotional spaces”.

There will be themed chapels on a "discovery trail", with an emphasis on Africa and Asia, while quotes from the Bible will be projected onto chapel walls in various languages, including Mandarin.

The final chapel on the trail will have a strong environmental emphasis.

“It’s as if Disney were entering Notre-Dame," said Maurice Culot, a prize-winning Paris-based architect, urbanist, theorist and critic who has seen the plans.

"What they are proposing to do to Notre-Dame would never be done to Westminster Abbey or Saint Peter’s in Rome. It’s a kind of theme park and very childish and trivial given the grandeur of the place,” he told The Telegraph.

A senior source close to the renovation said the plans risked turning the global beacon of Christianity into an “experimental showroom” that would “mutilate” the work of Viollet-le-Duc, the celebrated architect who restored the cathedral following the ravishes of the French Revolution in an effort to recapture the spirit of Medieval Christianity.

“Can you imagine the administration of the Holy See allowing something like this in the Sistine Chapel?,” said the senior source with access to the latest plans. “It would be unimaginable. We are not in an empty space here.”

“This is political correctness gone mad,” said the senior source. “They want to turn Notre-Dame into an experimental liturgical showroom that exists nowhere else whereas it should be a landmark where the slightest change must be handled with great care."

Read the rest here.

Paris in '39

Color home movies of Paris in 1939. I'm guessing this was in the spring based on the absense of summer type attire.

Notre Dame and my fears

As anyone who has not just arrived from another planet will be aware, the great Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris was severely damaged in a fire yesterday. It appears that the fire brigade heroically managed to save most of the great treasures of art and holy relics as well as significant parts of the cathedral itself. Notably, the iconic bell towers were still standing this morning.

France is, understandably, in deep shock and mourning as is much of the world. I visited the cathedral in the 1980's while in the Navy and yesterday's events were so disturbing I had to turn off the TV. The fire is being described by some as the worst cultural disaster to hit France since the Nazi occupation.

Now comes the hard task of sorting out the damage and planning the restoration and rebuilding. Yes, the cathedral will be restored. President Macron's declaration to that effect was almost unnecessary. There was never any doubt.

Which brings me to my great fear. How will it be done? I am not worried about the money. I am worried about what will emerge from the smoke and ashes. Notre Dame has been through rough times before. It was redecorated by Louis XIV. After being sacked by anti-clerical mobs during the French Revolution it was left as a near ruin until restoration work began in the 1830's. But in each case the building was redecorated/restored, at least in part, to the tastes of those in charge of the project.

In the present day and age that could be disastrous.

If the Society of St. Pius X were given charge of the project, I would not fear for the end result. But the French Catholic Church might as well be on the list of endangered species. And what is left of it has, with a few notable exceptions, fallen into the grip of the most odious modernists.

If the Cathedral is rebuilt in the spirit of Vatican II... I tremble at the thought.

Breaking News: The Cathedral of Notre Dame is On Fire