Why Bother Saving Notre Dame Cathedral?

Are restoring cultural icons worth the trouble?

Photo: Stephen Radford on Unsplash

Last April when Notre Dame Cathedral caught fire you’d think the world had ended. The global press couldn’t contain its horror. “Quelle catastrophe,” they said. Repair the roof and rebuild the spire? Of course. No question.

The embers had barely cooled before French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault pledged $112 million for the restoration followed by similar donations from France’s elite. An international campaign to save the Cathedral reportedly raised another $877 million. Astounding.

Notre Dame Cathedral in happier times. Photo: Sebastien on Unsplash

Restoring the Cathedral to its Former Glory

The Cathedral is a beautiful, historic and spiritual treasure. But a billion dollars to repair it? Critics say that money could be better spent elsewhere, say on Paris’s poor or on other worthwhile causes around the world.

The Glasgow School of Art after the 2018 fire. Photo: John Thomson

Another Catastrophe Across the Channel