Notre Dame in a Secular Age

Will the Fifth Republic be worthy of the cathedral it has resurrected from the flames?

Stephane de Sakutin, Pool via AP
The choir stalls of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral are seen while French President Macron visits the restored interiors of the monument, November 29, 2024, at Paris. Stephane de Sakutin, Pool via AP

The reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris five years after a fire spotlights the glories of Europe at a moment when the continent appears intent on showcasing its worst. President Macron calls the restoration “a human adventure of epic proportions,” and it is difficult not to feel a sense of awe toward God and man for the revival of this place of prayer, whose cornerstone was first laid in 1163 of the common era.

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