New liturgical furnishings have been chosen for Notre-Dame de Paris, the world-famous gothic cathedral in the French capital that’s currently being refurbished after almost being destroyed in a 2019 fire.
The furnishings include a semi-circle altar rising from a three-step base, a designer bishop’s chair, a sleek ambo, and a stylised tabernacle – all in a dark smooth bronze.
But not everyone is happy with the modernist touches created by French designer Guillaume Bardet, whom Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich announced on June 23 had been chosen to make the new liturgical furnishings.
Some have criticised Bardet’s work as overly minimalist and too austere. Criticism has been voiced on social networks, notably on Twitter with the hashtag #saccageNotreDame – as in “ransacking” the monumental church.