Disney Pledges $5 Million to Restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral

by Ray Keating

News

DisneyBizJournal.com

April 17, 2019

The Walt Disney Company announced today that it has pledged a $5 million donation to the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.

Photo courtesy of Wilipedia

Bob Iger, Disney chairman and CEO, said, “Notre-Dame is a beacon of hope and beauty that has defined the heart of Paris and the soul of France for centuries, inspiring awe and reverence for its art and architecture and for its enduring place in human history. The Walt Disney Company stands with our friends and neighbors in the community, offering our heartfelt support as well as a $5 million donation for the restoration of this irreplaceable masterpiece.”

A report earlier today from the Associated Press said that nearly $1 billion in donations had been pledged to rebuild the cathedral: “Contributions came from near and far, rich and poor — from Apple and magnates who own L’Oreal, Chanel and Dior, to Catholic parishioners and others from small towns and cities around France and the world.”

Another AP report basically laid out a timeline of events when the fire broke out on April 15, and the battle that raged against the flames and to protect the cathedral and its treasures. As the AP described one scene:

At 7:49 p.m., the 19th-century spire that was the architectural masterpiece of Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc and his post-Revolutionary restoration broke apart and fell through the nave. The bronze weathercock tumbled, taking with it three relics sealed inside in 1935.
 It had been 66 minutes since the first flames were spotted.
 The sky above the cathedral flamed orange, and the fire lurched toward Notre Dame’s iconic towers, then slipped inside.
 As darkness fell, 20 firefighters climbed inside the two towers “at great risk to their lives, to attack the fire from the inside and save the building,” said Laurent Nunez, deputy interior minister.

While French President Emmanuel Macron has promised that Notre Dame would be rebuilt in five years, most experts note that it could take much longer – perhaps decades.

Ray Keating is the editor, publisher and economist for DisneyBizJournal.com, and author of the Pastor Stephen Grant novels, with three books - Reagan Country: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel, Heroes and Villains: A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story and Shifting Sands: A Pastor Stephen Grant Short Story – published in 2018. In addition, the second edition of Warrior Monk: A Pastor Stephen Grant Novel was published in January 2019. He can be contacted at  raykeating@keatingreports.com.

Walt Disney and St. Joseph

by Chris Lucas

Guest Column

DisneyBizJournal.com

March 19, 2019

While Walt Disney himself wasn't Catholic, he's got a special connection to Saint Joseph, whose feast day is today. 

In 1940, using the profits from Snow White, Walt bought land in Burbank, California, for his new state-of-the-art studio campus. In 1942, Disney's fortunes dimmed as the World War limited his distribution of films. He mostly made shorts for the military, and the Army took over part of his studio for the war effort. 

Around that same time, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles was looking for space for a hospital in the San Fernando Valley area, which had over 300,000 residents but less than 100 hospital beds. Archbishop John Joseph Cantwell brought in the Sisters of Providence to help run the new hospital, and a site was selected across from the Disney Studios in Burbank. Walt himself deeded several acres of his property, which he once thought would be perfect for a Disney park, to the sisters for the project - which was announced as Saint Joseph's Hospital on March 19, 1942 and officially opened in 1943. 

Walt, whose daughters went to Catholic School, served on the board of the hospital for a time, gave money towards the construction, and even participated in the groundbreaking with the Archbishop and the Sisters. The Archbishop of Los Angeles was invited to dedicate Disneyland in 1955, and the Sisters of Providence were given free passes to visit the park any time. Famed Disney artists like Mary Blair were commissioned by Walt to provide artwork for the hospital, a lot of which still exists, along with newer pieces. 

In November 1966, Walt checked himself into Saint Joseph's for a nagging injury. He was diagnosed with lung cancer and died in that same hospital a few weeks later. His room overlooked the studio that he built. On the night before he passed away, Walt enthusiastically described his plans for the "Florida Project" to his older brother, Roy, using the ceiling tiles at Saint Joseph's to map it all out. 

Roy had planned to retire, but stayed on after Walt's death to see his kid brother's final dream, Walt Disney World, to completion. A few months later, Roy Disney passed away at Saint Joseph's, almost five years to the day after Walt.

To this day, the Disney Company is an active supporter of Saint Joseph's hospital, which is now the largest in the San Fernando Valley, with over 500 beds, 650 doctors and a staff of almost 3,000. Roy's son, Roy E. Disney, and his wife, Patricia, sponsored the building of a cancer treatment center there, which is named for them. 

For Saint Joseph's in Burbank, it all started with a mouse.

Chris Lucas is the author of the forthcoming book Top Disney: 100 Top Ten Lists of the Best of Disney, from the Man to the Mouse and Beyond.