The Flames of Notre Dame

Paris is burning.

At least, Notre Dame was.

The cathedral, as synonymous with the city as the Eiffel Tower, was undergoing much-needed renovation when the blaze started. It quickly spread, causing the rooftop spire to collapse.

The 800-year-old stained glass windows melted from the heat, molten glass mixing with molten lead.

A video posted to Twitter showed a group of Parisians kneeling on the ground singing hymns, including Ave Maria, as they stared at the flames.

Things that were saved:

The twin bell towers and bells

The priceless relics and works of art housed in the cathedral

The copper statues of the 12 apostles that were removed from the roof on Thursday due to renovation efforts

The fire comes on the second day of Holy Week, leading up to the most important Catholic holiday - Easter. It's also seven months after a fire at the National Museum of Brazil gutted the entire building, destroying most of the 20 million object collection, and three months after a government shutdown caused irreparable damages to United States National Park Service units.

This is what makes the fire so heartbreaking. Not that the cathedral is one of the most visited sites in the world, not that it has played a huge role in French history - but that it's meeting the same fate as so many other historically, culturally, artistically, religiously significant sites. Notre Dame, the cathedral, isn't safe from the consequences of overuse and underinvestment.

There is a silver lining to the inferno, as many have pointed out - it will be rebuilt, just as it has been for the past eight centuries. It offers some hope, too, for other cultural sites similarly destroyed.

Photos my own, July 2015