2019年4月15日，巴黎市中心，标志性建筑巴黎圣母院的尖塔和尖顶坍塌，大教堂被大火吞噬。
巴黎人和全世界的天主教徒哀悼2019年圣母院没有举行圣诞弥撒——这是法国大革命以来的第一次。教堂教区长传来消息后，这一损失尤其令人痛苦，他说这个里程碑“有50%的可能性”可能无法被挽救。
帕特里克·肖维特主教告诉我美联社四月火灾前安装的脚手架——已经熔化、熔化，现在不祥地坐落在建筑物上方——有坍塌到三个拱顶上的危险。
“为了确保建筑安全，我们需要完全拆除脚手架，所以2021年我们可能会开始修复大教堂，”他说。“一旦脚手架拆除，我们需要评估大教堂的状况，需要拆除和更换的石头数量。”
据法国报纸报道《世界报》自1803年法国大革命结束后，大教堂每年都举行圣诞仪式。今年，仪式被转移到卢浮宫附近的圣日耳曼欧塞尔里斯教堂。肖维特分享了他在别处庆祝圣诞节的“心痛”美联社。
法国立法者在7月份通过了一项修复计划，以促进受损屋顶和被烧毁尖顶的重建。该法案为该项目拨款约10亿美元——由包括个人和私人捐助者在内的联盟提供——法国总统埃马纽埃尔·马克龙表示，该项目将在五年内完成。
这个时间表已经引起了人们对其可行性的怀疑，并且在2024年巴黎奥运会之前有一些武断的结束日期。
火灾的原因仍在调查中，检察官称这可能是丢弃的香烟或电气故障造成的。
“今天，它还没有脱离危险，”肖维特强调道美联社。
关于如何修复圣母院的争议已经在该项目的领导层中出现。菲利普·维伦纽夫(Philippe Villeneuve)自2013年以来一直担任该建筑的建筑师，一名负责监督重建的陆军将军告诉他，在说出对历史上忠实的修复的渴望后，要“闭嘴”。
法国立法者已经授权重建工作“保护纪念碑的历史、艺术和建筑利益”
巴黎旅游局将巴黎圣母院列为该市访问量最大的文化纪念碑。2017年，它的游客总数超过了卢浮宫和埃菲尔铁塔。每年大约有1200万人长途跋涉来到这个网站。
游客在大约三年内将无法再次进入这座建筑。拆除脚手架后，建筑师必须首先确保圣母院的结构完好。
4月份尖顶着火后，460吨铅被火焰包围，火焰向大气中喷出有毒粉尘。重建将要求规划者应对一系列建筑、环境、健康相关和政治挑战。
NOTRE DAME IS 'NOT OUT OF DANGER' AS FRENCH CATHOLICS MOURN FIRST CHRISTMAS WITHOUT MASS AT THE CATHEDRAL IN 216 YEARS
The steeple and spire of the landmark Notre-Dame Cathedral collapses as the cathedral is engulfed in flames in central Paris on April 15, 2019.
Parisians and Catholics worldwide mourned the absence of Christmas mass at Notre Dame Cathedral in 2019—a first since the French Revolution. The loss was especially painful in the wake of news from the church's rector, who said there's a "50 percent chance" the landmark may not be able to be saved.
Monsignor Patrick Chauvet told The Associated Press that scaffolding installed before the April fire—which melted, fused and is now perched ominously above the building—is at risk of collapsing onto the three vaults.
"We need to remove completely the scaffolding in order to make the building safe, so in 2021 we will probably start the restoration of the cathedral," he said. "Once the scaffolding is removed we need to assess the state of the cathedral, the quantity of stones to be removed and replaced."
According to French newspaper Le Monde, the cathedral had housed Christmas services annually since 1803, following the end of the French Revolution. This year, services were moved to the Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois Church, which is near the Louvre museum. Chauvet shared his "heartache" at celebrating Christmas elsewhere with The Associated Press.
French lawmakers passed a restoration plan in July to facilitate the reconstruction of the damaged roof and immolated spire. The bill allocated around $1 billion dollars—provided by a coalition including individual and private donors—to the project, which French President Emmanuel Macron says should be finished in five years.
That timeline has generated skepticism towards its feasibility and somewhat arbitrary end date ahead of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, and prosecutors have said that it could have been the result of a discarded cigarette or electrical problem.
"Today, it is not out of danger," Chauvet emphasized to The Associated Press.
A dispute over how to restore Notre Dame has emerged among the project's leadership. Philippe Villeneuve, who has served as the building's architect since 2013, was told by an army general overseeing reconstruction to "shut his mouth" after speaking out about a desire for historically faithful restorations.
French lawmakers have already mandated that reconstruction efforts "preserve the historic, artistic and architectural interest of the monument."
The Paris tourism office has ranked Notre Dame as the city's most-visited cultural monument. In 2017, it outranked both the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower in terms of total visitors. Approximately 12 million people trek to the site annually.
Tourists won't be able to re-enter the building for around another three years. Upon removal of the scaffolding, architects have to first ensure that Notre-Dame is structurally sound.
After the spire caught fire in April, 460 tons of lead were surrounded by flames, which spewed toxic dust into the atmosphere. The reconstruction will require planners to address a host of architectural, environmental, health-related and political challenges.
