The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. will hold a benefit concert to aid the Cathedral of Notre Dame this Friday night, April 26 at 7 p.m.
The concert will be free and open to all, but donations are welcome to benefit the rebuilding and restoration of the Notre Dame after the devastating April 15 fire, that reduced the 850-year old church’s wooden roof to a heap of ashes.
The concert, titled “Together with Notre Dame de Paris,” was organized by the Basilica and the Embassy of France in the United States, the Friends of Notre-Dame and the French-American Cultural Foundation.
Friday’s concert will feature Johann Vexo, organist at Notre Dame, who was playing in the Paris cathedral when the fire started. The choir of the Basilica will accompany him, and the concert will be broadcast live on EWTN.
Monsignor Walter R. Rossi, rector of the National Shrine, said last week that the basilica was launching a fundraising effort “because, like the National Shrine, Notre Dame is dedicated to Our Lady, and so she is our older sister, and family helps family when there is a tragedy. We’re reaching out to help as best as we can,” reported the Catholic Standard.
On the evening that the fire ravaged Notre Dame, the Archdiocese of Washington began an online fundraising effort, www.SupportNotreDame.org to pay for its restoration.
Cardinal Donald Wuerl, apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Washington, announced last week that the archdiocese had donated $25,000 to rebuild the cathedral.
The Grand Organ, which Vexo was playing on the night of the fire, survived with only minor damage, protected as it was under a stone roof at the front of the cathedral, reported the New York Times.
Here is Johann Vexo performing J.S. Bach last year at the Notre Dame Cathedral:
And today we celebrate...