While it may not quite be the “woke Disneyland” as originally advertised, the French cathedral of Notre-Dame will be getting some more modernized redesigns in its interior.
On Thursday, France’s National Heritage and Architecture Commission, which has orchestrated the famed cathedral’s reconstruction, “gave the green light” to a series of proposed designs that would modernize the interior, according to the New York Times.
Proposed by the Catholic diocese of Paris, the new designs will include displays of contemporary works of art, new lighting effects, and wall projectors that will display bible verses on its 850-year-old walls. The Times noted:
The heritage commission also authorized cathedral administrators to rearrange the tabernacle and other items to create more room for visitors. Artworks from the 20th and 21st centuries could be placed next to old master paintings from the cathedral’s collection, such as Mathieu Le Nain’s ‘Nativity of the Virgin Mary.’
One new feature that will likely glorify the cathedral is the new entryway, through the central portal rather than a side door, allowing visitors to be “first struck by the grandeur, by the beauty of Notre-Dame,” according to Notre-Dame rector Msgr. Patrick Chauvet, who said the new designs will create “a dialogue” between the old and the new.
In November, controversy erupted when it appeared that the beloved cathedral would get a dramatic remodeling, transforming it into a “woke Disneyland” that placed globalist ecumenism over its Medieval Catholic roots. As Breitbart News reported at the time:
According to renovation plans divulged to The Telegraph, the cathedral may have its interior become a politically correct “theme park,” with parts of the building’s interior that were left mostly untouched by the fire set to change dramatically.
Confessional boxes, altars, and classical statues are to be replaced with modern art murals, while light and sound effects will be added to the building in order to create so-called “emotional spaces.”
“Themed chapels” are also to be added to the building as part of what is being dubbed a”discovery trail”. The chapels will feature Africa and Asia prominently, with Europe, the Americas and Oceania being cast into the background.
Paris-architect Maurice Culot said:
It’s as if Disney were entering Notre Dame. What they are proposing to do to Notre Dame would never be done to Westminster Abbey or Saint Peter’s in Rome. It’s a kind of theme park and very childish and trivial given the grandeur of the place.
Prior to Thursday’s approval by the committee, as many 100 public figures in France signed an open letter titled, “Notre-Dame de Paris: What the fire spared, the diocese wants to destroy.”
Fortunately, the heritage commission rejected some of the more extreme redesign proposals, such as the removal of several saint statues from various chapels and replacing them with modern art installations. The committee reportedly “also asked for a review of a design for removable benches that were proposed as a replacement for the cathedral’s traditional wooden chairs,” according to the Times.
“Don’t think we’re going to make Disneyland,” Msgr. Chauvet assured.
The committee plans to have Notre-Dame fully operational in time for the Paris Olympics in 2024.