StOM 1903 StOM 1905 | Page 17

A hitch back in Notre Dame? I suspect that many readers will, like me, have memories of visiting the famous cathedral which was gutted in the recent fire. Perhaps you too marvelled at the sun streaming through the Rose windows, at the epic Gothic structure and at the skill of the artisans who – with the most primitive of tools - first embarked on the work and were long dead before the completion of even the initial building over two hundred years later. Within hours of news of the conflagration being broadcast around the globe, nine hundred million Euros had been pledged for the rebuilding. French President Emmanuel Macron, a man not noted for his largess with the public purse (just ask those engaged in des gilets jaunes - the yellow vests – protests against austerity) had committed the funds and resources to rebuilding Notre Dame in time for Paris hosting the 2024 Olympic Games. There was much rejoicing at the rescuing of works of art and Holy relics (of questionable provenance) by the undoubted heroics of the chaplain of the Parisian Fire Brigade. Purported to be a relic of the wreath of thorns placed on the head of Jesus Christ at his crucifixion, the hallowed object was salvaged from the cathedral's treasury. French King Louis IX had brought the relic, which is contained in an elaborate case of solid gold, to Paris in 1238. As millions still starve around the globe, while the established churches largely cast their eyes in another direction, one wonders why the great and the good flocked to be part of (usually a very visible part of) this immense charitable response to the loss of a World Heritage landmark, but failed to make equally generous contributions of support for the living while they still are……living! A gesture towards God or Mammon? Anon 17