Notre Dame reopening: The United States leads among foreign donors

A bell rings from a small room in the back of St. John the Divine Cathedral in Harlem, a neighborhood in New York City. Inside, visitors step into a world apart: an immersive exhibition created by the French company “Histovery.” It recounts 850 years of Notre Dame’s history through augmented reality scenes viewable on tablets, from the stonecutting workshops of the 12th century to the fire trucks that saved the structure from flames in 2019.

“My wife was watching TV in the next room and told me Notre Dame was on fire. It broke my heart,” recalled Tom Newcomb, a New Yorker visiting St. John. The reopening? “It’s going to be a glorious day,” he exclaimed. “I’ve been following the progress on YouTube!”

A special place in the American imagination

The Parisian cathedral holds a singular place in the American imagination. Whether Christian or not, many Americans know it from literature and Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame, released in 1996 and later adapted into a musical. Millions more have visited over the years, with Americans being the largest group of foreign tourists in the French capital. This explains, in part, why so many corporations and individuals—wealthy or not—have contributed to its reconstruction.

“The morning after the fire, we had collected $2 million. Today, we’ve raised a total of $57 million,” said Michel Picaud, president of Friends of Notre Dame de Paris, an organization that has been fundraising for the cathedral in the United States. since 2017.

While some donors are religious institutions, such as the Archdiocese of New York, “the majority are people connected to the monument for cultural or personal reasons,” Picaud noted. “Some associate Notre Dame with historical events, like the liberation of Paris. Others discovered it during a trip to France. It holds a unique status among European cathedrals and monuments.”

Picaud highlighted another reason for the outpouring of support: “The images of the fire, particularly the collapse of the spire, reminded people of the 9/11 towers falling. That had a profound impact across the Atlantic.”

Big and small donors united by love for Notre Dame

Jennifer Herlein, executive director of the French Heritage Society (FHS), an American organization dedicated to preserving historical monuments in France, said they raised $2.6 million for Notre Dame’s restoration. Of that, $2 million came from the Lauder family, owners of the Estée Lauder cosmetics empire, which has a strong presence in France.

“Sixty percent of the rest were donations under $50,” she explained. “One couple gave $1,994 because they got married in Paris in 1994 and visited the cathedral during their trip. Another family sent us a small gargoyle, claiming it was taken from Notre Dame by their grandfather after winning it in a poker game at the end of World War II. After the fire, they wanted it to return to its original home after decades in their attic.”

Herlein added that the United States’ contribution goes beyond financial support. Several American artisans, including Michael Burrey, a Boston carpenter, traveled to France to assist with the reconstruction. “It’s an emotional project for the French, but also for us Americans,” he said.