Paris, France, Apr 19, 2019 / 08:02 am (CNA).- After a massive fire gutted the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris April 15, the cathedral’s rector says a temporary wooden church might soon be constructed in the esplanade, or plaza, adjacent to the cathedral.
Monsignor Patrick Chauvet told France’s CNews April 18 that he was exploring plans to build an “ephemeral cathedral” adjacent to Notre Dame, where cleanup and construction are expected to begin soon.
Mass would be celebrated and confessions offered at the temporary structure, Chauvet suggested, adding that Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo is a supporter of the idea.
“We mustn’t say ‘the cathedral is closed for five years’ and that’s it,” Chauvet said Thursday.
There is no formal estimate yet for how long the cathedral restoration will take. While France’s President Emmanuel Macron has said that he would like to see restoration completed within five years, experts say that possibility is extremely unlikely.
Nearly one billion euro have been pledged to the restoration effort.
While the images of the cathedral’ exterior suggested nearly total devastation after the fire, inside the cathedral’s vaulted stone ceiling mostly held, and protected many of the cathedral’s religious and historical treasures from the flames.
The cathedral’s famed rose windows, its bell towers and massive bells, and its organ were all intact after the fire. The Church’s most important religious items were spared from the fire: the Eucharist, and relics of Christ’s crown of thorns and cross were saved during the fire.
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Sister Clare Crockett. / Credit: Courtesy of Servants of the Home of the Mother
CNA Staff, Nov 14, 2024 / 08:00 am (CNA).
Sister Clare Crockett was a young religious sister who died in 2016 at the age of 34 in an earthquake in Ecuador that left… […]
Cardinal Gerhard Müller (center) and Father Joseph Hamilton (at left), personal secretary to the late Cardinal George Pell, were among the priests celebrating the Jan. 10, 2024, Mass held on the first anniversary of the cardinal’s death. / Credit: Elizabeth Alva
Rome Newsroom, Jan 10, 2024 / 16:45 pm (CNA).
A requiem Mass was held in Rome on Tuesday evening to mark the first anniversary of the death of Cardinal George Pell and to celebrate the cardinal’s illustrious ecclesiastical career.
The chapel of the Domus Australia was filled to capacity for the Mass, which was celebrated by Cardinal Gerhard Müller. In attendance were numerous cardinals and bishops, an array of priests from Rome, ambassadors to the Holy See, and faithful from Rome and abroad who came to pray for the beloved cardinal.
The chapel of the Domus Australia was filled to capacity for the Jan. 10, 2024, Mass, which was celebrated by Cardinal Gerhard Müller. Credit: Elizabeth Alva
Father Joseph Hamilton, rector of the Domus Australia and Pell’s former secretary, noted in an exclusive interview with EWTN: “I think His Eminence was very loved here in the city of Rome. His witness was very much appreciated and his loss was very unexpected.”
“I think that a beautiful Mass to commemorate his life, to pray for the repose of his soul, and to ask for his intercession here in the chapel, which he renovated and which he loved, I’m hoping will bring consolation and some degree of closure for those who have been grieving for the cardinal over the last year,” Hamilton added in his interview.
Pell died at the age of 81 on Jan. 10, 2023, after suffering a cardiac arrest following a scheduled hip replacement days prior at Rome’s Salvator Mundi hospital. He previously served as archbishop of Sydney and Melbourne before Pope Francis appointed him to head the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy in 2014, making him the most senior Australian prelate.
Cardinal Raymond Burke was among those at the Mass on the first anniversary of Cardinal George Pell’s death Jan. 10, 2024. Credit: Elizabeth Alva
During his homily, Müller reflected on the long illustrious life of the departed cardinal, noting that Pell and Pope Benedict — who passed away less than two weeks before the cardinal — were “role models of the true faith.”
Müller reflected on his early life, noting that the cardinal showed great “athletic abilities” and “high intellectual talent,” which would have brought him “a brilliant career in the world.” But, Müller continued, Pell eschewed worldly goals and opted to “follow Christ’s call to the priestly service.”
Cardinal Gerhard Müller at the requiem Mass on Jan. 10, 2024, marking the first anniversary of Cardinal George Pell’s death. Credit: Elizabeth Alva
Pell was renowned for his quick wit and towering stature. Müller, reflecting on his personal relationship with the late cardinal, highlighted Pell’s commitment to “marriage and family in the spirit of Christ, teachings against relativization by secularist-minded participants in the Synod of this topic.”
Müller also touched upon the darkest chapter of Pell’s life, which stands as “a great testimony of Christian patience.”
Cardinal George Pell gives an interview to EWTN News in Rome, Italy, on Dec. 9, 2020. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA.
Pell was convicted on Dec. 11, 2018, on five charges of sexual abuse while he served as archbishop of Melbourne in the late 1990s. After serving 404 days in solitary confinement, Australia’s high court unanimously overturned the convictions, based on reasonable doubt of the appellate proceedings, in April 2020.
“He was relentlessly pursued by a bloodthirsty mob and made himself a victim of justice by anti-Catholic agitators in the media and the police apparatus,” Müller remarked regarding the vilification of the late cardinal in mainstream media.
Auxiliary Bishop Richard Umbers of the Archdiocese of Sydney spoke with EWTN after the Mass, noting that the evening was an opportunity to mark “the anniversary of a man who was a lion in the Church. I think it’s giving due recognition to someone who’s been very important in the life of Australia, if not in fact the whole world.”
While recognizing that Pell was a “lightning rod for the Church,” Umbers explained that he was a man “of great strength and tremendous courage.”
Pell’s legacy is not just limited to his theological acumen or reforms of the Vatican’s handling of financial affairs, but it is most tangibly seen in the revitalization of the Church in Sydney.
“I think the impact of Cardinal Pell is very visible in Sydney,” Umbers said. “He was a big man with great vision, and the last 20 years in the Archdiocese of Sydney have seen real growth and leadership amongst a number of young Catholics.”
“You find an environment there which is quite extraordinary. A lot of life, especially in the area of university chaplaincy. He [Pell] invested heavily in that area and took great interest in the next generation of leaders,” Umbers added.
According to Father Hamilton, one of the hallmarks of Pell’s legacy will be his example of strength and unity for the Church as it is going through a period marked by division and is mired in crises.
“We are one Catholic Church, we have one faith, we have one pope, we’re one people. If we stand together, we’re strong. If we’re divided, we’re weak, and I think that his [Pell’s] witness to us and his legacy to the Church is that it is one, holy, catholic, apostolic Church that he was proud to serve and that he was proud, in a very humble way, to be a confessor of. I think that that leaves us an astonishing and shining example,” he said.
CNA Staff, Dec 4, 2020 / 04:30 pm (CNA).- Actors from the films trilogies the “Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” have backed a campaign to turn the former home of Catholic author JRR Tolkien into an educational center.
Project Northmoor is seeking to raise nearly $6.5 million to purchase the house where Tolkien wrote his most famous novels. As of Dec.4, the project has funded $250,000.
A video in support of the project was released Dec. 2. It includes the actors Ian McKellen, who portrayed Gandalf; Martin Freeman, who portrayed Bilbo Baggins; and John Rhys-Davies, who played Gimli.
McKellen tweeted that authors of Tolkien’s stature have museums and educational centers established in their memory. He encouraged Tolkien fans to donate to the campaign.
“We cannot achieve this without the worldwide support of the Tolkien fans,” he said. “We will only succeed if we do this together as a fellowship.”
While a fellow at Pembroke College, and later Merton, Tolkien lived at the house on Northmoor Road in Oxford from 1930 until 1947.
If the project raises enough money, the six-bedroom home will be renovated and the garden restored. This will include a hobbit house in the garden and a pipe-smoking area around Tolkien’s tree. The Tolkien house would also involve creative courses and special events.
“Unbelievably, considering his importance, there is no centre devoted to Tolkien anywhere in the world,” said Rhys-Davies, according to BBC.
“[It would be a] literary hub that will inspire new generations of writers, artists and filmmakers.”
Project Northmoor was founded by British Novelist Julia Golding. She said it is a huge challenge to raise this money in three months, but noted that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“We need only to look at Frodo and Sam’s journey from Rivendell to Mount Doom, which took that same amount of time – and we are inspired that we can do this too, ” she said, according to BBC.
The video also features Leith McPherson, dialect coach on The Hobbit movies; Malcolm Guite, poet and scholar; and Golding, director of Project Northmoor. They highlighted the important influence that Tolkien’s life and literature have had.
“Tolkien’s world has been an inspiration for many artists, writers, filmmakers. But, so far there has been no specific place dedicated to the appreciation of Tolkien’s life,” said Guite.
“Tolkien built his vast mythology for his mythical world between teaching Oxford students the languages and literature he loved,” said Michael Ward, a British scholar and author.
“He also invented his own languages. From the beautiful language of the elves to the terrible Black Speech of Sauron,” said McPherson, switching between Elvish and the Dark Tongue of Mordor.
Golding said that if completed, the house will be dedicated to the fans and expressed hope that the house would become a center for fans from all over the world.
“This is our vision at project Northmoor, a charity set up to purchase the house and then go on to establish the center. We hope one day to welcome Tolkien enthusiasts from the world over to take part in our events.”
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