Expert Voices on Notre Dame Cathedral Fire

The world watched in stunned disbelief April 16 as fire engulfed the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, a central landmark as well as a revered religious home and destination for many. The fire spread quickly, causing devastating damage to the famed 850-year-old church as thousands of onlookers watched, shocked by the scene unfolding before them. The cause of the conflagration is unknown and under investigation. 

Two experts from Villanova University have provided their thoughts from different perspectives. 

Roderick Cooke, assistant professor of French and Francophone studies and modern French literary and culture expert, on its historical context and assessing its future :

"Notre-Dame has a long history of rebuilding and renovation going back centuries, most notably in the nineteenth century after Victor Hugo's novel, The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, helped it reclaim its place in the French national imagination."

"This disaster will be the most challenging episode in that history, and will likely be hotly debated since it comes at a time when France is more secular and multicultural than ever. As a working Catholic cathedral that is also a globally-recognized symbol of France and its most-visited tourist attraction, it's in an ambiguous position that may be redefined in the next few years."

Massimo Faggioli, professor of Theology and Religious Studies, on Church history and the religious significance of this calamity.

Although priceless and sacred paintings and relics were rescued from the blaze and the main structure is reported to have been saved, the losses sustained in the fire go way beyond the physical, according to Massimo Faggioli, a professor in Villanova’s department of religious studies and theology and an expert in Church history.

“It's a devastating image because Notre Dame, Paris and France play a key role in the history of European Christendom, that is second only to Rome and the Vatican,” says Faggioli. “This is really a fire at the heart of Christianity.”

French President Emmanuel Macron immediately vowed to rebuild and, according to a CNN report, pledges of more than $700 million in donations from French business leaders and businesses had been confirmed by Tuesday afternoon”

The rebuilding effort goes far beyond architectural reconstruction, says Faggioli. “Churches have been destroyed by fire many times, but it was a time when Christian culture and society could sustain the re-building efforts. Now the question is who will rebuild it and how, what style? This is symbolical more than another fire.”

He added, “How to (re)build a church is essentially a question of ecclesiology - of different ideas of what the Church should be and look like. Rebuilding a Catholic Church built in the Middle Ages is ecclesiologically and theologically much more complicated in 2019 than in the post-World War II period.”

To speak with Cooke or Faggioli, email mediaexperts@villanova.edu or call 610-519-5152.