You have set souls aflame for 850 years— history surrounds your walls A Te Deum in Choir of the Church in the reign of Louis XIV (1669) Cult of Reason celebrated during French Revolution at Notre Dame (1793) Napoleon Crowned Emperor at Notre Dame Cathedral (12-2-1804) CNN has an article "Coronations, protests and tightrope artists: A visual history of Notre Dame" (4-17-2019). Wikipedia has a section "Events in the cathedral" listing from 11-7-1455 (Joan of Arc's mother petition to overturn her daughter's conviction for heresy) to 4-15-2019 (Large fire damaged cathedral & its contents). The above three images were downloaded from the site. Photo Sources: 1669 Choir (wikimedia.org); 1793 Cult of Reason (wikimedia.org); 1804 Coronation of Napoleon (wikimedia.org)

Now fire raged within you— your wooden roof collapsed and lofty spire toppled Fire & Smoke Inside Roof Collapsed Spire Toppled Guardian Chronology of Fire at Notre Dame: 6:20 pm, April 15, 2019— First alarm sounded at Cathedral. 6:45 pm— Fire breaks out in the roof space surrounded by scaffloding. 7:10 pm— Smoke plumes clearly visible from afar. Crowd gathered on left and right banks of River Seine. Photos circulate on social media. Reuters Chronology: 7:59 pm— Cathedral's Spire toppled into the Nave. 8:25 pm— Entire roof collapsed. Photo Sources: Fire & Smoke Inside (dnews.com); Roof Collapsed (dnews.com); Spire Toppled (dnews.com) The North & South Towers and Rose stained-glass windows were saved without damage. North & South Towers Saved Rose Stained-Glass Windows Saved Cross Still Standing Above Debris The North & South Towers of Notre Dame were built between 1225 and 1250. They measure 226 feet in height. Jean de Chelles was a master mason & sculptor who designed a gabled portal to Notre Dame's north transept topped off by a spectacular rose window in late 1240s. Paris Professor Dupuy, from whom I've taken many classes at Stanford (2008-2011), emailed on 4/21— "Of all the pictures about the tragedy, I have attached one I find the most touching. Three firemen enter the cathedral and there stands way above the debris the cross, intact and shining. Difficult not to believe in some form of transcendence after that." Photo Sources: North & South Towers Saved (wibc.com); Rose Windows Saved (reviewjournal.com); Firefighters entering Notre Dame found Cross standing above debris (4/21 email from Professor Jean-Pierre Dupuy to wisdomportal.com) Five hundred firefighters battled the blaze eight hours saved Christ's crown of thorns Firefighters Saving Towers Firefighters Battling Blaze Christ's Crown of Thorns France B285 King St. Louis IX (issued 7-10-1954) Approximately 500 firefighters battled the fire at Notre Dame from 7:00 pm to 3:00 am when it was under control. A French priest entered Notre-Dame Cathedral while it was burning. Jean-Marc Fournier, chaplain of the Paris Fire Brigade, insisted on entering the burning cathedral and helped retrieve both the crown of thorns and the Blessed Sacrament. Catholics believe the crown was worn by Christ during his crucifixion. It was given to King Louis IX (1214-1270) in 1238 by Emperor of Constantinople Baldwin II. Other relics saved include the Tunic of Saint Louis IX when he brought the Crown of Thorns to Paris, Three Rose Windows, Great Organ, Temple Bells. Still unaccounted for are a fragment of the True Cross and one of the Holy Nails from the crucifixion. Paris firefighters formed a "human chain" to save treasures from Notre Dame. Wall Street Journal's article "How Paris Firefighters Helped Preserve Notre Dame Towers" (By Sam Schechner & Nick Kostov, 4-17-2019), tells how firefighters made a decision that likely saved the structure from complete collapse: They gave up on the roof & turned to saving the cathedral's Gothic towers. Wisdom Stories: Silent Greetings between Saint Louis IX and Brother Egidio. Photo Sources: Firefighters Saving Towers (wsj.com); Fighterfighters Battling Blaze (valleynewslive.com); Crown of Thorns (thisisinsider.com); France B285 Saint Louis IX (colnect.com) A crowd lined the Seine looked on with horror as if Paris was being beheaded. Crowd on Banks of Seine Notre Dame on Fire Damage to Notre Dame From the diagram of "Damage to Notre Dame" in Daily Mail (2-16-2019), we see that the whole roof and spire were destroyed. The choir and nave are damaged. Fortunately the three Rose Windows were saved along with the two Bell Towers. Read "Chilling Moment Notre Dame's Spire Collapses During Horrific Fire" (By Madison Roberts, People, 4-15-2019). Onlooker Pierre-Eric Trimovillas told Times "It hurts to watch this. The cathedral is the symbol, the heart of Paris," he said. "Paris is beheaded." Photo Sources: Crowd on Seine (ocregister.com); Notre Dame on Fire (foxnews.com); Damage to Notre Dame (dailymail.co.uk) Were the Garoyles in repair to ward off this harm? And where are the angels? Gargoyle on Tower Gargoyle on West Façade Angel at Notre Dame Angel on Rooftop In architecture, Gargoyles are grotesque creatures carved sculptures with a spout designed to convey water from a roof and away from the side of a building, thereby preventing rainwater from running down masonry walls and eroding the mortar between. Legends of gargoyles say they were placed on cathedrals to ward off the devil, and remind parishoners of the perils of evil. There are Angel Sculptures at Notre Dame. The one on the rooftop may have fallen when the roof collapsed. The real angels were the Paris firefighters who saved Notre Dame and its priceless treasures. Photo Sources: Gargoyle on Tower (mymodernmet); Gargoyle 2 on Tower (victormphoto.com); Angel at Notre Dame (dreamstime.com); Angel on Rooftop (dreamstime.com) I lived nearby you in summer '79— sat by your Rose Window Hotel Sorbonne 6 Rue Victor Cousin, Paris Map of Hotel Sorbonne Latin District North Rose Window of Notre Dame In the suumer of 1979, I was invited by the French Government to participate in a 6-weeks workshop (July 16-August 30) on "Protein Folding" at University of Paris, Orsay. I stayed at the Hotel Sorbonne at 6 Rue Victor Cousin just opposite Sorbonne University. Dad visited me during my last two weeks, and when he looked out of my window, he said, "This hotel was my dormitory when I studied here at the Sorbonne 50 years ago." Dad was a Sorbonne classmate of Jean-Paul Sartre & Simone de Beauvoir (1929), while doing his thesis (1929-1931) with Pierre Renouvin. Dad loved art and we toured together the Louvre, Jeu de Paume, Museum Cluny, Museum Guimet, Museum Rodin, and Notre Dame de Paris. Sources: Hotel Sorbonne (skyscanner.ca); Map of Hotel Sorbonne (paris-paris.com); North Rose Window (wallmonkeys.com); Drank your peace & quiet— O Blessings be with you Notre Dame will rise again. University of Paris at Orsay 1979 Workshop on "Protein Folding" CECAM Paper in in Fasman's Book Amino Acid Compositions Assumption of Virgin by Rubens (1626) NSF (National Science Foundation) and CECAM (Centre Européen de Calcul Atomique et Moléculaire) awarded me a travel grant and complete living expenses for six weeks in Paris (summer 1979). My research done "New Approaches to Protein Structural Analysis and Conformational Predictions" was published in Rapport d'Activite Scientifique du CECAM, Orsay, France, 1979, pp. 149-216. It comprised 1/4 of their volume. This work "Prediction of Protein Structural Classes from Amino Acid Compositions" was later published (pp 549-586) in Gerald Fasman's Prediction of Protein Structure & the Principle of Protein Conformation (1989). My student Charlie Beck at WPI told me to read Henry James' Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres (1904). I was surprised to learn that during the Middle Ages plagues, prayers to the Father, Son, & Holy Ghost didn't work. But prayers to Virgin Mary healed many of the sick and dying. That's why cathedrals named Notre Dame sprang up all over France. On 8-15-1979, (Assumption of Mary holiday), made a pilgrimage to Chartres, and followed the parade of the Virgin's Veil around the town. As I lived nearby Notre Dame de Paris, would walk there after dinner. There sat by the Rose Window & meditated. It cleared my mind for creative work. I felt blessed by the Virgin & am sure Notre Dame will rise again. Photo Sources: University of Paris Orsay (glassdoor.co.in); Prediction of Protein Structure (amazon.com); Prediction from Amino Acid Compositions (springer.com); Ruben's "Assumption of Virgin Mary" (wikimedia.org). — Peter Y. Chou     Mountain View, 4-22-2019 | Top | Homage to Notre Dame | Poems 2019 | Poems 2018 | Poems 2017 | Poems 2016 | Poems 2015 | | Poems 2014 | Poems 2013 | Poems 2012 | Poems 2011 | Haikus 2019 | Haikus 2018 | Haikus 2017 | Haikus 2016 | | Haikus 2015 | Haikus 2014 | Haikus 2013 | Haikus 2012 | News | CPITS | Books | A-Z Portals | Home | © Peter Y. Chou, Wisdom Portal P.O. Box 390707, Mountain View, CA 94039 email: (4-22-2019)