The University of Notre Dame is donating $100,000 to rebuild the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris that was severely damaged in a fire on Monday, the school announced in a statement.
While expressing his condolences over the extent of the damage, university president Rev. John I. Jenkins, said the church raised hearts and minds to God for centuries.
“We join in prayer with the faithful of the cathedral and all of France as they begin the work of rebuilding,” Jenkins said in a statement to the campus community.
Jenkins added that the Notre Dame Cathedral inferno reminded him of the words of Holy Cross Father Edward Sorin, founder of the University of Notre Dame.
“‘Tomorrow we will begin again and build it bigger, and when it is built, we will put a gold dome on top with a golden statue of the Mother of God so that everyone who comes this way will know to whom we owe whatever great future this place has,’” Jenkins said, quoting Sorin.
On Tuesday, to mark the start of the cathedral rebuilding process, the bells of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the Notre Dame campus tolled 50 times, representing the 50 Hail Marys of Our Lady’s rosary.
According to CNN, the fire that erupted in the Cathedral’s attic caused its 300-foot spire to collapse and damaged a significant part of the 13th-century oak roof. More than 500 firefighters battled for 15 hours to extinguish the fire.
The French government has involved more than 50 investigators in the probe to uncover the exact cause of the fire.
Foundation Urges University of Notre Dame to Unveil Columbus Murals