Paris, France, Apr 15, 2019 / 11:33 am (CNA).- The Cathedrale Notre-Dame is on fire, according to the Paris fire department. Multiple eyewitnesses shared photos and videos of the cathedral with visible plumes of smoke and flames across the cathedral’s roof.
Firefighters responded to an alarm rasied shortly before 7pm, according to the newspaper Le Monde.
Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo issued a series of brief statements via Twitter saying that emergency responders are fighting to control the flames and appealing to local residents to keep the area clear to assist their efforts.
Officials have not yet determined what caused the fire, which is still burning.
The landmark cathedral in the French capital is one of the most recognizable churches in the world. The fire comes after several weeks of vandalism and arson attacks on church buildings across France.
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The Ascensor da Glória funicular in Lisbon, Portugal, crashed on Sept. 3, 2025, killing 17 people and injuring at least 23. / Credit: Maragato1976 (CC BY-SA 3.0)
ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 4, 2025 / 15:03 pm (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV on Thursday offered h… […]
Gold medalist Novak Djokovic of Serbia poses for photographers with his medal at the presentation ceremony for the men’s singles tennis event on Court Philippe-Chatrier at the Roland-Garros Stadium during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Aug. 4, 2024. / Credit: Miguel Medina/AFP /Getty Images
CNA Staff, Aug 6, 2024 / 14:15 pm (CNA).
Novak Djokovic on Sunday became the first tennis player in a dozen years, male or female, to complete a tennis “Golden Slam,” winning all four major annual tournaments and an Olympic gold medal.
The 37-year-old Serb, considered by many the greatest male tennis player in history, defeated the young Spanish superstar Carlos Alcaraz to win the gold at the Paris Olympics.
Many Catholics took note of the fact that an elated Djokovic made the sign of the cross several times after winning the match — but you may also have noticed that he did the sign of the cross from right to left, rather than the typical Catholic left to right.
Novak Djokovic, a devout Orthodox Christian, gets down on his hands and knees to thank God after his victory at the Paris Olympics. ✝️🥇
The Serbian tennis champion, has won his first Olympic gold medal, after competing in 5 separate Olympic Games. pic.twitter.com/shsTXXu3MK
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the very earliest Christian practice appears to be the tracing of the sign of the cross of one’s forehead, which later evolved into the practice of making a sign of the cross across a larger portion of the body. St. Basil (329–379) wrote that the apostles “taught us to mark with the sign of the cross those who put their hope in the Lord.”
When Catholics do the sign of the cross today, they cross themselves with their hand starting at the top, going down, and then from left to right. When Orthodox Christians do the sign of the cross, they start at the top, go down, and then from right to left.
Many Orthodox sources say part of the reason that the sign of the cross is done in this direction is because during the Orthodox Divine Liturgy — the equivalent of the Mass — the Orthodox priest does the sign of the cross from left to right, facing the people, who copy his movements in mirror image. That said, the exact reasons for the differences are ancient and not entirely clear even to the Orthodox themselves.
There’s another level of meaning in the Orthodox sign of the cross, though, that is more readily documented. The Orthodox hold their hand with the index and middle fingers and thumb together, a symbol of the three persons of the Holy Trinity — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit — together as one God. The two fingers, ring and pinky, that remain down symbolize the two natures of Jesus: fully human and fully divine.
Novak Djokovic warms up before a match at Wimbledon in 2013. Credit: Jonah McKeown
Djokovic’s Christian history
Djokovic was brought up in the Serbian Orthodox Church, which claims the majority of the country’s citizens and several million members worldwide. He grew up during a tumultuous time in the region and survived the wars between the Yugoslavian states.
In 2011, Djokovic was awarded the Serbian Orthodox Church’s highest honor “for his active love toward Mother Church, particularly fervent and persistent helping [of] the Serbian people and the sanctuaries of our Holy Church.”
He has donated several million dollars to the Serbian public health system and to charities run by the Serbian Orthodox Church.
“This is the most important title of my life, because before being an athlete, I am an Orthodox Christian,” he said upon receiving the award.
Despite Djokovic’s frequent displays of a cross necklace, performance of the sign of the cross, and talk of God, a 2015 biography of Djokovic opined that “[i]t would wrong to suggest that he is devoutly religious, but the ritualistic role the church plays in the life of Serbia is sufficiently strong that it is very much a part of his life.”
Still, the tennis champ has shown himself to be a person animated by love of neighbor. He runs the Novak Djokovic Foundation, which primarily focuses on rebuilding preschools and supporting teachers and parents of young schoolchildren. And in 2017, he opened a restaurant in Serbia that provides free food to the homeless.
Religious sisters pray during the Regina caeli with Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square May 2, 2021. / Daniel Ibanez/CNA.
Madrid, Spain, Apr 20, 2022 / 14:07 pm (CNA).
Given the improvement in the situation with the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain, a Royal Decree published Wednesday states that the use of masks indoors is no longer mandatory, but keeps in place the requirement for hospitals and public transportation.
The Archdiocese of Madrid issued a statement April 20 announcing the decree going into effect and called for the faithful to be prudent and for those at greater risk to the virus to take precautions.
The archdiocese pointed out that the Royal Decree recommends that “people with greater vulnerability” continue to wear a mask in “any situation in which there is prolonged contact with people at a distance of less than 1.5 meters,” or about five feet.
The decree also calls for “responsible use” of masks in “closed spaces for public use in which people pass through or stay for a long time.”
Previously, the vicar general of the Archdiocese of Madrid, Father Avelino Revilla, announced that “due to the favorable development of the health situation,” beginning March 11, liturgical celebrations “will be carried out only in accordance with what is contained in the liturgical books.”
The Cathedral was a monument to Our Lady by a civilization that believed in, trusted her, and paid her homage. This fire is surely a sign to the civilization which does her little honor and indeed pays her little homage and even less belief. In this Holy Week, let us faithful ones beg her protection.
It’s incredibly painful to watch the cathedral burning. But however beautiful it was, it was only rock, wood, glass and metal, and whatever those before us made we can make again if we try.
But maybe a good time to remember the rain falls on us all, good and wicked and in between. Let’s not suggest we can escape hardship through thoughts and deeds.
I am grateful that nobody, it seems, has been killed, but I am heartbroken by the destruction. Would it be wrong to pray that God would miraculously restore it?
When I was 6 years old, I prayed that God would miraculously restore my dog to life. We need to learn that this is not how God normally works. And frankly (an apt word), our prayers are better spent asking for a restoration of the Faith that built the building rather than for the building itself.
I am aware that that is not how God normally works. Miracles, especially of that sort, are not common. But as Ramjet says below, a miraculous restoration might aid in the restoration of lost faith. So many people were praying publicly last night – perhaps some of whom normallly don’t.
Yes, they did. “Etienne Loraillère, an editor at France’s KTO Catholic Television, reported that “Fr. Fournier, chaplain of the Paris Firefighters, went with the firefighters into Notre-Dame cathedral to save the crown of thorns and the Blessed Sacrament.”
The Cathedral was a monument to Our Lady by a civilization that believed in, trusted her, and paid her homage. This fire is surely a sign to the civilization which does her little honor and indeed pays her little homage and even less belief. In this Holy Week, let us faithful ones beg her protection.
It’s incredibly painful to watch the cathedral burning. But however beautiful it was, it was only rock, wood, glass and metal, and whatever those before us made we can make again if we try.
But maybe a good time to remember the rain falls on us all, good and wicked and in between. Let’s not suggest we can escape hardship through thoughts and deeds.
I am grateful that nobody, it seems, has been killed, but I am heartbroken by the destruction. Would it be wrong to pray that God would miraculously restore it?
When I was 6 years old, I prayed that God would miraculously restore my dog to life. We need to learn that this is not how God normally works. And frankly (an apt word), our prayers are better spent asking for a restoration of the Faith that built the building rather than for the building itself.
We don’t know how God works.
A restoration of the Cathedral may be instrumental in bringing a few lost souls back to Faith.
I am aware that that is not how God normally works. Miracles, especially of that sort, are not common. But as Ramjet says below, a miraculous restoration might aid in the restoration of lost faith. So many people were praying publicly last night – perhaps some of whom normallly don’t.
Please, does anyone know if they saved the Eucharist?
Yes, they did. “Etienne Loraillère, an editor at France’s KTO Catholic Television, reported that “Fr. Fournier, chaplain of the Paris Firefighters, went with the firefighters into Notre-Dame cathedral to save the crown of thorns and the Blessed Sacrament.”