On April 15, 2019 at 6:30 PM Paris time, the famous Notre Dame Cathedral was engulfed in flames.  The fire raged on for over 12 hours, obliterating the church’s spire and roof, but sparing its twin medieval bell towers.  Though the Notre Dame went up in flames during a mass, fortunately, no one was killed in the blaze. The day after the fire, French President Emmanuel Macron verbalized his goal to rebuild the Notre Dame “even more beautifully” over the next five years.  Donations to fund rebuilding have come flooding in, surpassing $1 billion.  

The Notre Dame has survived over 900 years on French history, so people around the globe were heartbroken when news broke that is was being destroyed.  

Whippany Park Junior Gianna Rispoli was heartbroken when she heard the news.  “It’s devastating that such an iconic and truly beautiful monument caught fire so suddenly,” she told Wildcats Roar.  She hopes that action is taken soon to restore Notre Dame to its original beauty.

Junior Lauren Zarras was concerned mostly with the Notre Dame’s rich history.  She was “devastated by the tragedy that has destroyed centuries worth of history.”

French student Robbie McCoy was also deeply saddened by the Notre Dame fire.  He explained to Wildcats Roar, “Although I never knew too much about Notre Dame aside from what we learned in French class, I recognized that this was a tragic loss for France. I️t was upsetting to hear of such a historical monument being burned with so little anyone could do to stop it.

The destruction of the Notre Dame rocked not only the inhabitants of Paris but the world, as well.  Hopefully, the restoration process goes smoothly and the Notre Dame can be reconstructed to its original glory.