Five years ago, Notre Dame Cathedral caught fire. A column of smoke rose above the Paris skyline after the historic cathedral, which took 182 years to build between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries, turned into a burning structure.
However, against all odds, the gothic masterpiece reopens its doors on Saturday – and two Canadian blacksmiths played a role in its restoration.
Montreal blacksmith Mathieu Collet won’t be able to get to Paris to see the erected church before the summer, but he said he’s grateful for his small role in the cathedral’s history.
“I think I have a little place in heaven now,” he said in an interview Thursday.
After Notre Dame Cathedral fell into ruin, Colette received a phone call from a fellow blacksmith working in the Alsace region of France, asking her if he wanted to travel to Europe to participate in the rebuilding of Notre Dame Cathedral.
Master blacksmith Mathieu Collet stands next to his forge in his workshop in Montreal, Wednesday, August 10, 2016.
Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
Over the course of four months in the fall of 2022, Colette and a team of seven young blacksmiths under his supervision made three different types of axes – 60 axes in all. Axes were quickly distributed to carpenters who needed the tools to carve the timber frame of the roof, and they did their best to imitate the original construction.
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Colette said experts are able to examine stone, wood and other materials and determine which tool was originally used. In the case of the frame Colette was helping with, it was determined that three different types of axes were used.
“Every time an ax is finished, the ax is sent to the carpenter,” he said. “We never had the opportunity to look at more than two or three finished axles at the same time, because we were eight people making as many axles as possible every day.”
Colette, 49, has been a blacksmith for more than 30 years. In 1994, he moved to southwest France to train under professional blacksmiths, then returned to Quebec in 1998. He soon opened his own foundry with the help of his father. Over the years, he visited Notre Dame several times, stopping to marvel at its “amazing” door hinges.
He said in an interview: “Every blacksmith in the world asks himself: How can this be done?”
Another Canadian blacksmith, Nicholas Patrick of Toronto, was also involved in the project, although Collett said he never met Patrick.
The day after the cathedral burned in April 2019, French President Emmanuel Macron decreed that Notre-Dame would rise again in just five years — a deadline that initially terrified the main architect behind the rebuilding, Philippe Villeneuve.
Macron’s decree became the driving force behind the most prominent restoration process in modern French history. The announcement sparked unprecedented global support, with donations quickly approaching $1 billion.
“I’ll tip my hat to them and say everything went well and on time,” Colette said. “This is unbelievable.”
A month after the fire, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Paris and offered Canadian steel and wood to France to help with the restoration.
“Canada will stand with France and ensure all support is provided – whether it is steel, wood or any possible assistance,” Trudeau said. “It is truly a piece – not just of French history – but of world history that needs to be preserved, and we will be there to be a part of it.”
Federal government officials on Thursday could not confirm whether Canada ultimately provided any materials to contribute to the rebuilding.
The reopening begins with invitation-only ceremonies on Saturday and Sunday, with heads of state and government – including Quebec Premier François Legault – arriving in the French capital. Security measures will be tightened with the Cathedral Island site closed to tourists.
& Edition 2024 The Canadian Press
