“The Virgin inhabited me, protected and carried me throughout the construction work” The confidences of Philippe Villeneuve, chief architect of Notre-Dame

“I’m off to see two gargoyles, then I’m yours.” When I enter the Notre-Dame construction site, in the office of Philippe Villeneuve’s tight team, the tension is palpable. A few weeks before reopening, the trio of architects formed with Rémi Fromont and Pascal Prunet are on edge. On the walls, plans of the spire of Viollet-le-Duc in 3D sit alongside portraits of the late Queen of England, dear to the heart of the project manager. On the shelves, numbered stones, planks of different types of wood, pieces of twisted metal, speak of the religion of vestiges and the love of noble materials. On several occasions our interview is interrupted by urgent phone calls from technicians and collaborators who need a green light or a quick visit from the chief architect to make a choice, decide, move forward. “I have become a machine for arbitrating and deciding” says the project manager who dreams of seeing the end of this pharaonic project.

The man who carries the cathedral on his shoulders is both happy and dented. Like the rooster he recovered the day after the fire on the terrace, north side. Happy to have been able to work to restore its beauty to the cathedral, proud to be able to return it soon to those who love it and to see the wonder in their eyes, but also dented, by these five years of incessant work. Five years of living by and for Our Lady have left their traces on the body of her servant and in his soul.

First on his body. The arrow of Viollet-le-Duc tattooed on his left arm, the tip of which extends beyond the cuff of his shirt, says a lot about the physical bond that unites the architect to the cathedral. Philippe Villeneuve has Notre-Dame under his skin. The north tower, the south rose, the great organ, two chimeras of Viollet-le-Duc, the Virgin and Child, the rooster, the spire and the plan of the restored building, joined the west rose on its epidermis. tattooed on her heart since 2013. A passion for the Stone Lady that dates back to childhood. Since he knew how to fit three LEGO bricks together to build a building, and his grandfather gave him art books with images of churches and cathedrals, young Philippe vaguely felt the desire to become an architect.

“I entered Notre-Dame through its music, which my grandmother introduced me to. Recordings of the great organist Pierre Cochereau. I was amazed, captivated by his power, so much so that at the age of 7, I convinced my parents to take me to attend a mass in the cathedral, just to hear him play. Later, at 16, I visited an exhibition at the Grand Palais dedicated to Viollet-le-Duc which left an impression on me: I discovered that monuments, once built, still needed architects to take care of them. ‘them ; a revelation. My vocation as an architect of historical monuments was born that day. » So, when the Paris Cathedral, whose spire he had been supervising the restoration of since 2013, caught fire, there was no question for a single moment, for his best connoisseur, of running away.

“My life in parentheses”

“It is only the dead that cannot be resurrected. The cathedral was injured but still standing. Damaged like his rooster, but, like him, saved from total destruction. When my mission to restore it was renewed, I did not hesitate: I understood that the project would be very difficult to manage, that the five-year deadline would be a constant challenge and would cause enormous stress. So, I made the decision to put my life on hold and devote all my energy to the rebirth of the building. I believe in destiny. As if everything I had accomplished before had led me to this duty at hand, as if it was written in the lines of my hand that I must repair Notre Dame. Since the abominable evening of April 15, 2019, a sort of double of myself, tough and efficient, started up, an inner voice told me: “Go for it Philippe, you have no choice. » This splitting was undoubtedly a question of survival for the other, more emotional self, who felt tears welling up in his eyes as he thought of each damaged place in the cathedral…”

Put your life on hold. Give up the restoration of the castle of Chambord – we cannot dedicate ourselves to two icons at the same time – the cathedral of La Rochelle, the fortifications of Vauban on the island of Ré, all these monuments of Charente-Maritime, its department of heart, was a painful choice. The province is the breathing space for the lover of old stones. His lung. But the Paris Cathedral, its soul.

How did he find the strength to carry out this project? Thanks to the protection of the Virgin of the Pillar and the friendship of the companions, his second family. Philippe Villeneuve is not a man to shout his faith from the rooftops of Paris nor to make shattering declarations about his spirituality. But when he entered the devastated and blackened cathedral among the first, he saw the Virgin holding the child Christ in her arms. Unharmed by the falling vault, surrounded by smoking debris. Intensely present. “That day, I asked him to give me the strength to restore his cathedral, to restore its integrity and its beauty. Even when she was evacuated to be decontaminated, then found refuge at the Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois church, I continued to pray to her countless times, to lead me to the end of my mission. She inhabited, protected and carried me throughout the entire construction site. »

Each wound of the monument healed, each stone of its vault rested, each stage of consolidation of its framework, the architect dedicated them to him. Until the new rooster he designed. “I did not create it for my personal glory, but for the cathedral. This rooster which flies away, which says to the world: “I burned and rose again, I am the eternal flame, that of the Holy Spirit”, I am only the humble designer, the messenger. » Nothing would have been possible without the brotherhood of companions.

“A few weeks before reopening, I would like to tell them that I love them and thank them. I feel infinite gratitude towards them. For my two architect teammates who worked like crazy, for my close team, for all the craftsmen so involved, my gratitude is extreme. I have been surrounded by so much talent and self-sacrifice. An ardor for work which did not fail even after the premature loss of General Georgelin. A few days ago, I heard the tuning of the organ trumpets mingling with the saw cutting the tiles. The spirit of the place blew again through its wind instrument and the work of the artisans. The music was back, I was happy. »

In 2022, the architect declared to our weekly: “When my mission is finished, I will leave. » Notre-Dame will be returned to the world on December 8 but the sacristy, the roses and the apse still need to be completed. Will he remain the conductor of this latest work? “I have two or three years left, until 2028, to complete this task. I will then be 65 years old, perhaps it will be time to stop balancing on the scaffolding. You know, I am happy that the restoration of Notre-Dame was entrusted to me at my age. If I had been younger, what could I have undertaken that was bigger after this project? It will then be time for me to share, tell, transmit and perhaps teach. »

Still in love with his cathedral but returned to himself and his family, the architect will be able to return to a “normal” life. “During the construction site, I lost my father and my mother, uncles and aunts to whom I was very attached. I had to postpone my grief until later, when the accomplished task would allow me to mourn them. When Notre-Dame is returned to those who love her, I will be able to reclaim my life. I hope that the Virgin of the pillar will authorize me and say to me: “You have worked well, you have the right to take a little rest. ” »

OUR LADY IN TEN DATES

1163 Start of construction on the Gothic cathedral under the aegis of the Bishop of Paris, Maurice de Sully.

1239 Arrival of the Holy Crown of Thorns purchased by Louis IX from the Emperor of Constantinople.

1351 Completion of the choir chapels which constitute the last phase of the project.

1699 The choir of Notre-Dame receives a new decoration commemorating the wish of Louis XIII declaring the Virgin Mary special protector of the kingdom in 1638.

1804 Notre-Dame, dilapidated since the Revolution but returned to worship, hosted the coronation of Napoleon I.

1831 Victor Hugo publishes Notre-Dame of Paris which draws public attention to the poor state of the cathedral.

1859 The new spire soars, completing the major restoration carried out by the architect Viollet-le-Duc from 1843.

1944 On August 26, in newly liberated Paris, General de Gaulle, braving a shootout, came to listen to a Magnificat.

1981 Mgr Jean-Marie Lustiger is appointed archbishop of the cathedral, where he will modernize certain decorations by calling on contemporary designers.

2024 On December 8, reopening after five years and eight months of construction to restore the building badly damaged by the 2019 fire.