Shared grief and memories make Notre Dame a unifier online
WARSAW, Poland — As foreign leaders expressed solidarity with France as it mourned the damage at Notre Dame Cathedral, people around the world shared their grief on social media along with unforgettable memories from the Paris landmark.
They posted selfies and family photos that were taken at Notre Dame days, years or decades before a fire burned through the Gothic church’s roof and brought down the spire on Monday. Some wrote of their disbelief. Others, saying no words adequately expressed their feelings, posted dramatic images of the architectural masterpiece engulfed in flames or the spire falling.
For the French people, the extensive damage felt like a wound to the national identity and served as a reminder of their heritage from the France that was devoutly Christian before secularism became the law of the land.
But millions of international visitors have been to Notre Dame, a must-see during school trips, honeymoons and family vacations. The cathedral has moved people of faith but also inspired non-believers, all finding wonder in the light filtered through stained-glass rose windows and a reward for making it to the top of the stairs.