French conservation experts say that the fire that damaged Paris’s Notre Dame Cathedral this week largely remained isolated to the structure’s roof, sparing the relics below from damage.
The Associated Press reported Friday that Isabelle Palot-Frossat of the French Museums said that the main area of the cathedral was largely undamaged by fire, water, or ash from the burning church roof and the structure’s iconic steeple, which collapsed during the blaze.
{mosads}Many of the artworks, including the larger pieces, were being transported to a secure location, Judith Kagan of the French Culture Ministry told the AP.
The country’s culture minister told the news service that Notre Dame’s ceiling remains “in an emergency situation,” and that workers are attempting to remove large chunks of debris, including collapsed scaffolding that toppled during the fire.
French news outlets reported earlier this week that the church’s annual Easter service would be held at a historic church elsewhere in Paris as workers undertake efforts to save the Parisian landmark.
“We are going to rebuild the cathedral. The world’s excitement, the extraordinary generosity caused by the fire that partially destroyed it, will allow us to consider its recovery. We could speak in these Easter times of certain resurrection,” said Michel Aupetit, the Archbishop of Paris.
Notre Dame is “more than a pile of stones,” Aupetit continued. “The cathedral has partially fallen down, the cathedral will revive itself, it will recover.”