The cathedral has always meant more than mere Gothic splendour throughout France

When the spire broke and fell over, we felt as if it was plunging straight into our hearts. To all of us in Paris, and throughout France, Christians or not, believers or non-believers, Notre Dame has always meant more than mere Gothic splendour.

Related: Notre Dame fire: Paris cathedral devastated by ferocious blaze

One of the great symbols of France has suffered terrible fire damage. The whole of Europe is scarred too

It feels as though the very heart of France and the soul of Europe have been suddenly and viciously ripped out. The fire that coursed through large sections of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Monday evening was an act of blind and terrible destruction that causes a great stab of emotional pain to us all.

In a frighteningly short time, it gutted and humbled one of the great buildings of Paris, in an act of annihilation of one of the emblematic places of Europe that had survived the brutality of the French revolution and the world wars of the 20th century.