The chief architect of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris says Our Lady guided the restoration of the 861-year-old cathedral following the fire that ravaged the building in April 2019. Source: CNA.
In a televised interview on EWTN News In Depth, Philippe Villeneuve was asked if he was “a man of faith.”
He answered that he was a believer with a “particular devotion to Mary”.
Mr Villeneuve said he had kept this private during the rebuilding, but now was ready to reveal it.
“I spent five years saying nothing about this because I’m a civil servant in a secular republic, and therefore, I couldn’t say something like this,” Mr Villeneuve said. “But now, I have to reveal that yes.”
“I have a particular devotion to the Virgin Mary, and at the risk of sounding totally crazy — or like Joan of Arc — I never stopped feeling support coming from up there.”
The architect said that without Mary’s guidance, he didn’t think the restoration of Notre Dame would have been possible.
This was no small undertaking. A team of more than 2000 people worked on the 800 million euro ($A1.3 billion) restoration. The original building had taken nearly 200 years to build, but Mr Villeneuve had only five years to restore it.
“I don’t think this project would’ve been possible otherwise, and I think that’s what gave me the strength and determination to move forward because I knew I was supported from up there,” Mr Villeneuve said.
The fire destroyed the cathedral’s roof, spire, and three sections of the vault — but the organ, paintings, stained glass, and furniture were intact.
With pressure from the French government and the 340,000 private donors from around the world, Mr Villeneuve had to ensure that original techniques and materials were used as much as possible.
“It was an enormous amount of work,” he continued. “I realise it now looking at where we came from. I’m really amazed by the beauty – amazed by the work, by the quality of work.
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Notre Dame chief architect reveals ‘particular devotion’ to Our Lady (By Kate Quiñones, CNA)
