On April 15th, 2019 tragedy shook France and left the whole world distraught. The beloved Notre Dame Cathedral caught fire! This Cathedral is one of the most famous cathedrals in the world and means a lot to many people. Mrs. Parris, Spanish and French teacher at West who once lived in Paris, said, “ I think it’s sad, it’s really sad that it happened because it was a place that was really important to the country and the people that live there, it’s also important culturally and that it has been in a lot of pop culture like books and movies and stuff…”  The cause of the fire is still unknown, although it is said that the cause traces back to the renovations happening on the Cathedral.

The Notre Dame is famous for its French Gothic architecture. Nicole Wassel, Talia’s mom states, “I think just how vast it was, how important it is to the people. How important it is to the Catholic folks and Christian people how it just seems to unite folks and again just how beautiful it was.”  The Cathedral was originally built in 1163 and stood for 856 years before the fire. The outside was destroyed after the fire but thankfully many of the priceless artifacts inside were saved. Some of the artwork that was stored inside the Notre Dame were saved and are now being held at the Louvre in Paris.

Although not all of the cathedral was destroyed, many parts were ruined. Two-thirds of the lead roof was destroyed as well as the oak wood frame and the spire. The spire was originally built in the 19th century and was one of the first things to collapse during the fire. Talia Wassel, a West seventh-grade student, stated,” It’s so good that they are donating lots of money to rebuild it.” So far 700 million dollars has been raised to rebuild the cathedral.