A foundation in France hopes Americans will donate money to help save the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, CBS reported Tuesday.
The majestic medieval monument, which is home to some of Catholicism's most important relics — including the crown of thorns said to have been worn by Jesus — has been deteriorating for a long time.
Years of rain, snow, and pollution have eroded the flying buttresses that prop the cathedral up.
In addition, the structure has walls chipping, the lead roofing tiles are turning to dust and Gothic gargoyles used to drain rain have been replaced with plastic pipes.
Last week, repair work began on the cathedral, which attracts some 12 million visitors a year, more than any other historic monument in Europe, but there is only enough money for the initial stages of the renovation, according to U.K.'s The Times.
Although church officials insist Notre Dame is safe to visit for now, they say it has reached a tipping point where the repair work must be done in the near future.
All the required repair work would cost an estimated $185 million, but the French government, which owns the cathedral, has pledged only some $50 million over the next decade for the project.
To raise the remainder of the money, the Friends of Notre Dame of Paris Foundation was launched to find private donors both in France and across the Atlantic.
Michel Picaud, who is helping to raise the money, told CBS that "Notre-Dame of Paris isn't a Paris monument or French monument or a European monument . . . it's really a worldwide monument."