We were shocked and saddened, along with so many others around the word this afternoon, when news broke that one of the most beloved churches in the world, the 800-year-old iconic Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, was burning.
Early reports indicated it was caused by renovations and construction underway in the cathedral.
But images, such as those captured live on the video below, told the story.
As Christians around the globe begin to mark the holiest week of the church calendar — and prepare to remember again Christ’s passion, death and resurrection — we pray for the people of Paris and believers everywhere whose hearts are breaking at the destruction, the ruin and the loss of such a beautiful house of prayer.
This afternoon, CNEWA’s chair, New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan, released a statement:
I just went next door to our own beloved Cathedral, Saint Patrick’s, to ask the intercession of Notre Dame, our Lady, for the Cathedral at the heart of Paris, and of civilization, now in flames! God preserve this splendid house of prayer, and protect those battling the blaze.
Mary, Queen of Peace and Help of Christians, pray for us!