A priest in Norwalk says it's a blessing the Notre Dame cathedral’s structure remains intact after a fire partially destroyed the building.   

Father Peter Lenox, of St. Joseph Church in Norwalk, studied at the Pontifical Liturgical Institute in Rome and spent a summer studying French in Paris.

He says he had the honor of visiting Notre Dame several times.

"When I first saw the fire, I was heartbroken,"  Lenox says.  

Father Lenox says he not only celebrated Mass at the cathedral, but also participated in priesthood ordinations of the Archdiocese of Paris and even played the organ.

He's friends with the organists at the cathedral who say relics, including the Crown of Thorns, were saved.

Lenox says it’s a symbolic gesture because it's Holy Week.

He says it's a blessing the cathedral's structure remains.

"It's wonderful to see that God did not allow it to be completely destroyed. But he has allowed it to be placed in a need for this current culture and citizens and this current generation to take care of the treasure that they have," Lenox says.