Photos: The Great Holy Week Fire at Notre Dame Cathedral

The fire, which began early Monday evening, sent flames and huge clouds of gray smoke billowing into the Paris sky as stunned Parisians and tourists watched on in horror.

Onlookers, some holding rosaries, kneel and pray on the pavement as flames engulf Notre Dame Cathedral on April 15, 2019.
Onlookers, some holding rosaries, kneel and pray on the pavement as flames engulf Notre Dame Cathedral on April 15, 2019. (photo: Eric Feferberg/AFP/Getty Images)

1. A picture taken on March 27, 2019, shows scaffolding during the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris. (François Guillot/AFP/Getty Images)

 

2. Workers of the Socra art conservation company remove the head of the statue of the apostle Saint Andre, made by architect Viollet-le-Duc, on the roof of Notre Dame on March 27, 2019, in Paris. (François Guillot/AFP/Getty Images)

 

3. A Socra worker packs the head of the statue of the apostle Saint Andre on the roof of Notre Dame on March 27, 2019. (François Guillot/AFP/Getty Images)

 

4. A statue is removed from the spire of Notre Dame cathedral by a crane before restoration work on April 11, 2019. Sixteen statues located around the spire of Notre Dame de Paris, those of the twelve apostles and the four evangelists, were unhooked from the cathedral with the help of a 300-foot crane. The statues were slated to be taken to Périgueux to be restored and replaced in the spire in 2022. Located around the spire of the cathedral, 150 feet above the ground, the statues had dominated Paris since the great restoration of the cathedral directed by Viollet-le-Duc in the 1860s. (Chesnot/Getty Images)

 

5. Flames rise during a fire at the landmark Notre Dame Cathedral in central Paris on April 15, 2019 afternoon, potentially involving renovation works being carried out at the site, the fire service said. (François Guillot/AFP/Getty Images)

 

6. People stare at smoke and flames rising during the April 15 fire. (Thomas Samson/AFP/Getty Images)

 

7. The steeple of Notre Dame collapses as the cathedral is engulfed in flames in central Paris on April 15, 2019. (Geoffroy Van der Hasselt/AFP/Getty Images)

 

8. A woman reacts as she watches the flames engulf the roof of Notre Dame. (Geoffroy Van der Hasselt/AFP/Getty Images)

 

9. A firefighter is seen fighting the flames at Notre Dame. (Pierre Suu/Getty Images)

 

10. People watch Notre Dame burn on April 15, 2019. (Thomas Samson/AFP/Getty Images)

 

11. Firefighters douse flames billowing from the roof at Notre Dame. (Geoffroy Van der Hasselt/AFP/Getty Images)

 

12. Smoke and flames rise during a fire at Notre Dame. (Bertrand Guay/AFP/Getty Images)

 

13. People kneel on the pavement as they pray outside watching flames engulf Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on April 15, 2019. (Eric Feferberg/AFP/Getty Images)

 

14. Firefighters draw water from the River Seine at the base of the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral during the fire that engulfed its roof on April 15, 2019. (Stephane de Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images)

 

15. Parisians and tourists gather on the Pont de la Tournelle as fire breaks out at Notre Dame de Paris cathedral on April 15, 2019. (Marc Piasecki/Getty Images)

 

16. An image taken from a television screen shows an aerial view of Notre Dame Cathedral engulfed in flames on April 15, 2019. (Stringer/AFP/Getty Images)

 

17. Parisians pray next to Notre Dame Cathedral on April 15, 2019. (Chesnot/Getty Images)

 

18. Smoke and flames rise during a fire at the landmark Notre Dame in central Paris on April 15, 2019. (François Guillot/AFP/Getty Images)

 

19. Flames and smoke are seen as the interior of the Notre Dame Cathedral burns on April 15, 2019, in Paris. A spokesman for the cathedral told AFP that the wooden structure supporting the roof was being gutted by the blaze. (Philippe Wojazer/AFP/Getty Images)

 

20. French President Emmanuel Macron (center) is accompanied by Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo (third from left), French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe (left) French Culture Minister Franck Riester (second from left) and Archbishop of Paris Michel Aupetit (right) as he speaks at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on April 15, 2019, after a fire engulfed the building. (Philippe Wojazer/AFP/Getty Images)

 

21. Firefighters douse flames billowing from Notre Dame’s roof on April 15, 2019. (Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images)