As flames engulfed Notre-Dame Cathedral, threatening to destroy a Paris treasure that for 850 years withstood revolutions, wars and natural disasters, dazed crowds formed impromptu vigils on nearby streets. They prayed, they cried, they sang Ave Maria’s.

Blending the medieval with the contemporary in the rebuild of Notre-Dame Cathedral will be daunting, said the lead architect on the restoration of Toronto’s St. Michael’s Cathedral.

PARIS - A hero emerging from the Notre Dame Cathedral fire April 15 is Father Jean-Marc Fournier, chaplain of the Paris Fire Brigade, who is credited with saving a reliquary containing the crown of thorns and the Blessed Sacrament from the burning cathedral.

VATICAN CITY - After the devastating fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris April 15, Romans and tourists could not help looking at St. Peter's Basilica and wondering, "what if?"

VATICAN CITY - As people in Paris and around the world watched in horror as flames consumed the roof of Notre Dame Cathedral, the blaze also stirred genuine emotions that could come only from witnessing the loss of beauty, art historian Elizabeth Lev said.

In one of the darkest hours for the “City of Light,” the Catholic Church in Canada has united in prayer and solidarity with Paris as it watched one of its grandest treasures engulfed in a raging inferno.

BOSTON - I was in the foyer of the House of Commons when I learned of the Boston Marathon bombings. Knowing my brother Mike and his wife Sally had friends running, I immediately called his home. Sally said Mike had been shooting video of runners raising money for charity and had called her from near the finish line. “His voice was high. He said: ‘There’s been an explosion. I’m okay. I gotta go.’ ”

BOSTON - Even though "the culture of death looms large" today, the light of Christ the Good Shepherd "can expel the darkness and illuminate for us a path that leads to life, to a civilization of solidarity and love," said Boston Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley.

WASHINGTON - Students at Boston colleges in particular felt the impact of the April 15 Boston Marathon explosions and after the tragedy just down the street from many of these campuses, they gathered to pray for victims, raise funds to support their recovery, and simply to talk and share their grief and disbelief.

Updated 04/18/13

BOSTON - The first name released of someone killed in the April 15 explosions at the Boston Marathon was that of eight-year-old Martin Richard, whose picture in newspapers showed him grinning broadly, apparently at his first Communion.

Updated 04/18/13

BOSTON - Within hours of two explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon April 15, Boston Cardinal Sean O'Malley sent a message of prayer and support for those injured, their loved ones and those who experienced the trauma of the tragedy.