For the official reopening, on December 8, the Pope will not be there and the President will finally speak on the square… No matter! This Friday, November 15, Notre-Dame returned to Notre-Dame, and that is the main thing. The cathedral is reanimated, in the etymological sense of the word. She is the first to enter. It comes from Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois, where it was installed during the work. In the streets of Paris, a huge torchlight procession accompanied her. The statue – a facsimile, because the original, too fragile, was transported directly by truck -, on a flowered stretcher, is carried by the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre. From a distance, seen from the Pont-Neuf, the candles lit in a serpentine pattern on the narrow quays of the Seine resemble the “ fireflies coming out of the great catacomb » dear to Philippe de Villiers.
The miracle
Do you know that this two-meter statue is called “the miraculous one”? This intact Virgin in the middle of the rubble was a concentrate of hope in the general dereliction. Abbot Stéphane-Paul Bentz, chaplain of Notre-Dame, speaks, on RCFof ” prodigy » : « There was a pile of stones and wood at her feet, but she remained standing. » He sees a whole symbol in it: “ In Christian tradition, the Virgin who remains standing is the Mother was standing : the Virgin standing at the foot of the Cross. »
If we are to believe the website of the Notre-Dame boutique which offers a reproduction to tourists, “ from the 12the century, an altar dedicated to Mary was attached to the southeast pillar of the cathedral. This location has been a high place of devotion since the Middle Ages. » But it was much later, in 1818, that the architect Viollet-le-Duc replaced the 13th century Virgine century, destroyed during the Revolution, by a Virgin and Child: this “new” sculpture dates from the middle of the 14the century. It comes from the Saint-Aignan chapel, located in the former canons' cloister, on the Île de la Cité.
Claudel and Huysmans
It was with her who is also called “the Virgin of the Pillar” that the poet Paul Claudel was converted, during Christmas vespers of 1886: “ I was standing in the crowd, near the second pillar at the entrance to the choir on the right side of the sacristy. And it was then that the event that dominated my entire life occurred. In an instant my heart was touched and I believed.. In his book The CathedralHuysmans describes the stone face: “ The mouth contracts into a pouting appearance and predicts crying. Perhaps by managing to imprint at the same time on the face of Our Lady these two opposing feelings, tranquility and fear, the sculptor wanted to make her translate both the joy of the Nativity and the anticipated pain of the Calvary. » Except that this time, the pain (of the fire) preceded the joy (of the great return).
For the record (current events require), in July 2017, Melania Trump, on the sidelines of an official visit by her husband, went to Notre-Dame in the company of Brigitte Macron. Second “first lady” – after Jackie Kennedy – of Catholic faith, she insisted on going to venerate the crown of thorns and placed two candles in front of said statue. Monsignor Patrick Chauvet, who served as their guide, had ushered them in with these words: “ Here, there is a first lady to visit! It is Notre-Dame de Paris which welcomes you, the lady of the house and above all the most beautiful woman in the world! » Donald Trump, too, is very attached to Notre Dame: “ It is so terrible to witness this gigantic fire at Notre-Dame de Paris. Maybe we should use water bombers to put it out. We must act quickly », he very quickly tweeted (a little annoying, with his advice as radical as it is expeditious, the French). And later, during a meeting, he declared that this cathedral was “ one of the great treasures of the world », « probably larger than almost any museum in the world “. The new president of the United States is said to be a cad and a misogynist; there is at least one “lady” he respects.
The “lady” on her pillar
The “lady” – this is what Saint Bernadette called her, in Lourdes – therefore found her place on the pillar. Meanwhile the bells were ringing. The most disturbing (and most touching)? Hearing the same prayers, the same hymns as those that the crowd spontaneously gathered had chanted in front of the burning cathedral five years ago. The circle is closed. Cathedrals are said to be catechisms in images: the wanderings of this Virgin and Child alone tell the story of the incarnation, passion, redemption and resurrection. Even the symbolism of his entry into the cathedral while the faithful still remain on the square. The mother stood in pain five years ago, she is today Happy Heaven's Gateas in the medieval Gregorian canticle Ave maris stella : happy gate of Heaven which precedes the elect.
Away from the politicians, notables and prelates who will crowd inside, on December 8, the “real” return of Notre-Dame was this Friday.
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