Outside of Saint Peter’s in Rome, no church, arguably, is more famous.

And now it is reopening in international fashion.

The eyes of the world will be on Notre Dame Cathedral this Sunday (feast of the Immaculate Conception).

So a number of facts and a bit of history are worth noting.

Start with the fact that the cathedral has been associated with several miracles and stories of divine intervention throughout its history.

One of the most notable involved Saint Genevieve, patron saint of Paris and renowned for her role in defending the city and her healing powers. Saint Genevieve played a significant role in protecting the city from various calamities, including floods and the invasion by Attila the Hun.

Throughout the Middle Ages, relics of Saint Genevieve housed in Notre Dame were believed to have healing powers. Pilgrims visited the cathedral to seek cures for various ailments, and numerous miraculous recoveries were attributed to her intercession​.

The cathedral was built (1163-1245) around the time Mary’s “queenship” was proclaimed and Saint Dominic was inspired to formulate the Rosary. The cathedral’s location is one of the oldest parts of the city of Paris. In Roman times, it was the center of the Parisii tribe and later became the heart of the medieval city. Building the cathedral there placed it at the political and cultural center of Paris.

The site had long been a place of Christian worship before Notre Dame was conceived. A Gallo-Roman temple, which was later replaced by a Christian basilica, and subsequently, several churches stood there before the construction of Notre Dame began in 1163. The cathedral was intended to be a more magnificent church than its predecessors.

In the 12th century, during a severe outbreak of what was later identified as ergotism (also known as “St. Anthony’s fire”), Parisians sought refuge and solace in Notre Dame, praying for relief. The end of the outbreak was attributed to Saint Genevieve’s intercession, and this event was declared a miracle by Pope Innocent II. (The miracle is commemorated every November 26 on the “Feast of the Burning Ones”.)​

Another significant event linked to the cathedral’s miraculous history occurred precisely during the devastating fire in April 2019, which coincided with Holy Week and led to the now splendid repristination.

Amid the inferno, the cathedral’s spire and roof were destroyed, but miraculously the main structure–including the iconic bell towers and the 13th-century rose windows–survived.

Father Jean-Marc Fournier, chaplain for the Paris fire department, played a crucial role during the fire, saving the Blessed Sacrament and the Crown of Thorns, a relic of immense religious significance. His actions during the fire were seen by many as a demonstration of faith and miraculous preservation in the face of disaster​. (Note that the fire, the cause of which remains a mystery, seemed to be at the beginning of a spate of still-ongoing arsons and other assaults on French churches and as Islam, as if invading as in past centuries, was rising.)

In addition to these events, during the cathedral’s reconstruction following the fire, the discovery of relics within the spire’s rooster weathervane, which had fallen but was found relatively unharmed, was seen as a symbol of resilience and miraculous survival​.

There are no recorded apparitions of the Virgin Mary specifically at Notre Dame, but these events highlight the significant spiritual and historical role that Notre Dame Cathedral has played in the life of Paris, serving not just as an architectural masterpiece but also as a center of faith and healing.

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