Notre-Dame's precious rooster statue found 'battered' in debris

[suffragette]

Amazing that this statue that was atop the spire survived the fire and the fall from that height.

https://news.yahoo.com/notre-dames-precious-rooster-statue-found-battered-debris-084658347.html

Paris (AFP) - A wrought copper statue of a rooster that sat atop Notre-Dame has been found "battered" in the debris of the Paris cathedral following its devastating fire, France's culture ministry said.

The statue is considered all the more important because it contains three holy relics -- including a fragment of the Crown of Thorns believed by Christians to have been worn by Jesus Christ during his crucifixion, placed there to protect Parisians.

The sculpture of the bird -- which is an unofficial symbol of France -- was recovered Tuesday by a restorer picking through the rubble left when the spire on which it had sat toppled at the height of the inferno that ravaged Notre-Dame on Monday, a ministry spokesman told AFP.

~~~

Because of the statue's damage, it was not yet possible to verify if the Crown of Thorns fragment or the other relics were still inside, the official said.

Link to tweet

[jberryhill]

1. Amazing that they were able to snatch that cock from the debris

[suffragette]

2. Yes. Apparently it fell to the other side of the main fire.

I will refrain from right side/left side preferences.

[jberryhill]

3. The second picture is significant

Aside from being an ornament, it was also a reliquary, containing a piece of the crown of thorns and relics of two patron saints of Paris, Denis and Genevieve.

[suffragette]

4. Yes. The article notes that due to the damage, they have not yet been able to verify if these

survived.

I imagine great care will be taken in exploring the inside of the statue to determine this.