Heart and Soul: From the ashes of Notre Dame
The Documentary Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 27 December 2024
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In 2019 a devastating fire ripped through the historic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. Locals looked on in disbelief, and millions watched on television around the world, as the iconic wooden spire came crashing down into the flames. Many thought Notre Dame was lost forever, but the 860-year-old Cathedral was not for giving up and over the past four years a team of skilled workers, at a cost of 700 million Euros, have painstakingly reconstructed this medieval masterpiece. Colm Flynn meet five people who say the symbolism of this Cathedral's restoration has had a profound impact on their faith. From a young wheelchair user who constructed a wheelchair for Pope Francis from the Cathedral's burnt wood, to the firefighter who saved the sacred chalice from the flames, to the young female footballer involved in the Paris Olympics who is now inspired to see the cathedral's rebirth and a choir made up of the Cathedral's architects and carpenters.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Ooh, it's a cold and rainy morning here in Paris, and I'm standing right by the river |
| 0:09.9 | Sen looking across at the Cathedral of Notre Dame, and I can see up in the scaffolding, |
| 0:15.8 | the construction workers are hammering, they're moving around, the tower cranes are swinging overhead as well. |
| 0:22.4 | The reason I'm standing in the rain at 8 in the morning by the River Sen in the heart of Paris |
| 0:27.4 | is because of the incredible structure before me. For almost 900 years, the Cathedral of Notre Dame |
| 0:34.1 | has been a jewel in the crown of Paris, a Gothic structure dating back to the 12th century, |
| 0:40.6 | one of the world's great cathedrals. |
| 0:43.3 | Over to my left, I see a lady. She appears to be praying. I'm going to approach her, |
| 0:48.5 | say hello. I'm Column Flynn, and for Heart and Soul from the documentary on the BBC World |
| 0:53.5 | Service, |
| 0:59.3 | I've come to Paris to hear what the restoration and rebirth of this cathedral means to the people of France. |
| 1:02.0 | What is your name? |
| 1:04.0 | Sylvie. |
| 1:05.2 | Sylvia, are you from Paris? |
| 1:06.8 | Yes, I'm born in Paris. |
| 1:08.7 | I just walked past you here next to Notre Dame, |
| 1:13.1 | and I saw that you were, it looked like you were praying in silence. |
| 1:17.2 | Yes, I see this cathedral, and I saw her like a very old woman, |
| 1:26.9 | so broken and so hurted. |
| 1:31.3 | I wanted to see her this morning with the sun |
| 1:36.7 | and to see the light of the sun on her, and it's so beautiful. |
| 1:41.8 | Isn't it amazing that just as we are talking, |
... |
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