A video of Parisians singing outside of the burning Notre Dame Cathedral in tribute spread throughout the Internet on Monday. The post by journalist Ignacio Gil of the Spanish outlet "El Mundo" showed the touching moment when crowds sang the classical "Ave Maria," as the cathedral was burning.
Content temporarily unavailable: .https://twitter.com/Inaki_Gil/status/1117868382785802242
The clip has been viewed more than 14 million times, with more than 125,000 retweets.
Many people also shared photographs of the iconic structure on social media, while others in Paris got out to watch in fearful silence from across the River Seine.
My brother @HinmanLabUCLA sends along this super sad video of Parisians holding hands, kneeling in prayer and singing together as they watch Notre Dame burning. pic.twitter.com/qoTYLyCMaE
— Katie Hinman (@khinman) April 15, 2019
The view from St Michele. As night falls, a group of people are singing while everyone else is taking photos and watch in shock. All feels eerie. #NotreDame #notredamedeparis pic.twitter.com/f5HAwGkmWN
— Andrei Popoviciu (@AndreiPopoviciu) April 15, 2019
It's a very moving moment here in #NotreDame. People are still singing the Hail Mary choir in disbelief. No other words can be uttered at this tragic event. #NotreDameFire #NotreDameDeParis pic.twitter.com/726QXBeWHO
— Alexander Durie (@alexander_durie) April 15, 2019
#NotreDameCathedralFire The Historical legacy is burning. pic.twitter.com/eh09u3Zx1g
— Rami Desho (@RamiDesho) April 16, 2019
Notre Dame is one of the world’s great treasures, and we’re thinking of the people of France in your time of grief. It’s in our nature to mourn when we see history lost – but it’s also in our nature to rebuild for tomorrow, as strong as we can. pic.twitter.com/SpMEvv1BzB
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) April 15, 2019
Crazy photo of the altar inside Notre Dame, by Reuters' Philippe Wojazer pic.twitter.com/KjRPSVKJRA
— Stefan Becket (@becket) April 15, 2019
This is what the interior of Notre Dame looks like now #NotreDameCathedralFire pic.twitter.com/dxMwwOUsm7
— Ahsan (@MianAhsan1786) April 16, 2019
A roof with gaping holes, a crushed altar, ashes: Notre-Dame interior heavily damaged by blaze https://t.co/hfF07YtEsm pic.twitter.com/g18RgjV2SF
— Reuters (@Reuters) April 16, 2019
The 12th-century cathedral is home to incalculable works of art and is one of the world's most famous tourist attractions, immortalized by Victor Hugo's 1831 novel "The Hunchback of Notre Dame."