Rebirth of Notre-Dame cathedral shows hope can be created and shared: President Tharman

SINGAPORE - The restoration of the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, France, five years after a catastrophic fire is a reminder of how hope can be created and shared through the hearts, minds and hands of people, President Tharman Shanmugaratnam said on Dec 24.

In a Facebook post wishing all Christians a blessed Christmas, Mr Tharman said the cathedral’s rebirth a few weeks ago “brought a gust of joy, even in a deeply troubled world”.

Notre-Dame was the world’s most visited church before

the April 2019 fire,

transcending religion, noted Mr Tharman. Those who entered would be immersed in centuries of French history, and the many influences, religious and otherwise, that shaped it.

Its restoration by 2,000 craftsmen of various faiths – including Christians, Muslims, Jews and Hindus – was a moment of unity, he added.

For instance, a firm founded by a French Muslim was responsible for recreating the enormous wooden trusses to support the roof that had been destroyed.

“One of history’s often forgotten legacies is how Arab Muslim engineers and artisans had contributed to the original construction of the Notre-Dame and to other significant examples of mediaeval Christian architecture in Europe,” he said.

“And so too, the centuries of collaboration and influence between Latin Christendom and the Islamic world.”

The process was also a triumph of skill, passion and orchestrated collaboration, he added.

Specialists and workers, from carpenters to metalworkers, stained-glass artisans to organ builders, converged from France and across the world for the endeavour, with many picked for their knowledge of ancient techniques to recreate the 860-year-old original architecture.

Mr Tharman noted that the craftsmen recreated axes that were used in 13th-century construction, so as to leave the same markings on the new wooden beams.

They also dismantled the 8,000 pipes of the Notre-Dame organ – one of the biggest in the world standing 13m tall – to clean out the soot from the fire, repair and reassemble them, and to fine-tune each one individually in the quiet of the night.

One of the new features of the cathedral, which

reopened its doors on Dec 7

with a ceremony graced by world leaders, is an inscription above its doors: “Peace be with you.”

Mr Tharman said: “The world can never be resigned to inhumane aggression against peoples and deep divisions within societies.”

In his post, the President also wished all Singaporeans a season of understanding and togetherness.