But was it funded by that organization? I was under the impression that big projects like cathedrals were used by the church as essentially huge visible PR projects, which attracted funding from people who wanted to be seen to donate (providing PR for themselves). Some of the funding might also have been siphoned off to the church itself, I can imagine.

This pattern continues today – witness the speed at which funding for rebuilding has been publicly pledged by people wishing to be widely seen to do so.