By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org
Kentwood resident Maria Orr said she is grateful that she at least had the opportunity to tour Notre Dame before the fire that brought down its spiral tower destroyed most of it.
Residents were glued to media outlets today as the world watched the catastrophic blaze ravage the beloved Notre Dame cathedral in Paris.
“I am glad that I got to see it before this happened,” said Orr, who visited the church with her daughter’s art class from East Kentwood High School. “I got to see the history and the windows before that was all destroyed.”
The artist behind the windows at St. Mary Magdalen Parish, which burned in 2012, Orr understands the pain and loss of the stained-glass windows at Notre Dame. Orr was able to recover four sets of the St. Mary Magdalen windows, which now hang in the new church building.
Notre Dame blaze brings back memories of St. Mary Magdalen Parish fire.
“St. Mary Magdalen at least had me around so when construction started, I was there to help design the windows for the new building,” Orr said. “None of the people who designed the windows for Notre Dame are around anymore to do that.”
Parishioner Luia Ortiz also mourned the loss of the windows. She had visited the church twice and now has a decal of one of the more famous Notre Dame windows on a window in her home.
“I wanted this little replica of the window but they were totally sold out of them when I was there, so I ended up buying a large piece,” Ortiz said, adding that when a friend went a few years later, she was able to get the replica for her.
What moves Ortiz more is the historical loss of the church.
“If they rebuild it, I don’t know if they will ever be able to capture the historical aspect,” she said.
At WKTV, we hope to capture some of the historical context along with the memories of those who visited Notre Dame. We encourage area residents to share their photos and stories about their visit to the iconic church. To share photos, go to our Facebook page or email them to joanne@wktv.org.
