The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) sent a letter April 16, 2019, to His Excellency the Most Rev. Michel Aupetit, Archbishop of Paris, conveying the sympathies and prayers of the Bishops of Canada following the fire that occurred yesterday, Monday, April 15, 2019, and devastated the Notre-Dame Cathedral. The letter was signed by Most Rev. Lionel Gendron, P.S.S., Bishop of Saint-Jean-Longueuil and President of the CCCB. It included the following:
“My brother Bishops and I share with you and all the faithful of your Archdiocese our sympathies and prayers following the major damage that occurred in the fire at Notre-Dame Cathedral yesterday, Monday 15 April 2019. The extensive damage to the interior, spire, and roof of this amazing building is a terrible loss to the cultural heritage of your city, your country, and Western civilization.
“We are at the same time confident that the devotion, generosity and Catholic faith of the People of God which inspired the construction of this Cathedral and made it so admired, loved and reverenced over the centuries as an eloquent expression of Christendom, will transform this moment of sorrow into an Exsultet of paschal hope and trust.
“May this Holy Week and its annual commemoration of death and new life bring comfort and solace for all who share this loss, and lead to a renewed and deeper trust in the creativity and power of the saving work of the Lord among us.”
