Out of the ashes of the Notre Dame fire, we’re seeing an incredible amount of miracles.
When it comes to the Lord, there is no shortage of highly visible miracles. Many will blow off miracles as coincidence or happenstance, but these ‘God-incidences’ (as my parish priest would call them), are ways that God shows his omnipotence and omnipresence.
Unfortunately, we miss to see many of these miracles. So here’s an on-going list of some of the miracles that have come out of the horrible fire at Notre Dame.
If you know of something that isn’t on the list, comment below (cite the source, if possible), and if it can be confirmed, we’ll add it!
The people
- No one was killed in the fire. However, a firefighter and two police were injured.
- The fire started just after closing for tourists. Mass had started at 6:15 PM and after the first alarm, all the church-goers were safely evacuated.
- Father Jean-Marc Fournier, the chaplain of the Paris Fire Brigade, was the priest who bravely rescued the relics from the burning building. He was also the priest who went in and prayed over those dead and wounded in the Paris Bataclan terrorist attack in 2015.
- Father Jean-Marc also saved the Blessed Sacrament from the flames.
- As the building was burning, many gathered outside and sung Ave Maria and other hymns.
- Within 24 hours, almost a billion dollars has been pledged worldwide to help rebuild the church, which shows the unity of the people to rebuild
- As the firefighters were going in after the fire was out, the prayer candles that the people lit the day before were still burning
- 180,000 bees in three hives live on the roof of the sacristy and there is photo proof they survived.
The relics
- The Crown of Thorns was saved from destruction.
- A fragment of the Crucifixion Cross of Christ was also saved.
- A nail believed to be one that pierced Christ’s hand was brought out of the fire.
- The tunic of Saint Louis was preserved.
- Inside the cock on top of the spire were relics of St. Denis, St. Genevieve and a piece of the Crown of Thorns, were presumed lost. But they were all saved!
The statues and invaluables
- The Thursday before the fire, sixteen bronze statues were removed around the spire because of the renovation and their own repair. They haven’t been moved since they were installed over 200 years ago.
- The high altar and alter cross glowed as the first images inside were published, including the 1725 Pietà statue, “Descent from the Cross,” by French sculptor Nicolas Coustou and other statues surrounding it.
- A human chain formed to save priceless pieces, candelabras, gilded furniture, works of art, and artifacts.
- The famous gargoyles seem to have survived the inferno.
- Wednesday, after the fire, many of the outside statues were being removed to take some of the weight off of the stone walls .
- The cock which stood on top of the spire was found among the rubble, although damaged was largely in tact and “restorable.” Inside of the rooster is where the relics were stashed!
- Some of “The Mays” thirteen paintings were saved, including the most prized, a 1716 piece called “The Visitation” by Jean Jouvenet, according to Le Monde. Four of them were damaged, some likely destroyed.
The building
- The overall structure of Notre Dame is structurally sound although there are a few sections that needed to be reinforced to make sure they didn’t fall.
- The twin bell towers and the flying buttresses are all still standing.
- The many of the rose windows seem to be intact, including the large most famous rose window, although some were lost in the blaze.
- The Great Organ of Notre Dame, the largest instrument in the world with more than 8000 pipes, remains intact.
- The building has been 3D digitally scanned by architectural historian, Andrew Tallon in 2015. This will help with the rebuilding process. Also, the images in the video game Assassins Creed may help recreate the church once again because of the video game makers attention to all the details.
If you know of or have read any other miracles in the fire of Norte Dame, please post them below.
