PARIS — After being severely damaged by a fire in 2019, France’s famous Notre Dame Cathedral is reopening on Saturday. The fire had nearly destroyed the 861-year-old cathedral.
The restoration of the cathedral, completed in just five years, is considered a remarkable accomplishment given that it initially took almost two centuries to build. This success is viewed as a significant achievement for French President Emmanuel Macron, who pushed for the ambitious timeline, offering a brief reprieve from his challenges in domestic politics.
To commemorate the reopening, a gathering will take place in the evening beneath the cathedral’s beautiful stained glass windows with the presence of various world leaders, dignitaries, and worshippers. This event serves as a rare moment of coming together amidst the existing global divisions and conflicts.
President-elect Donald Trump, America’s first lady Jill Biden, Britain’s Prince William and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are among 1,500 guests attending the reopening celebration under Notre Dame’s soaring Gothic arches, led by Archbishop Laurent Ulrich.
Because of strong winds forecast for Saturday evening in Paris, the French presidential palace and the Paris diocese said Friday the entire opening ceremony will be held inside Notre Dame, instead of starting from the cathedral’s forecourt as initially planned.
A sign of hope
Notre Dame’s rector, Rev. Olivier Ribadeau Dumas, says the cathedral is “more than just a French monument” and a beloved treasure of world’s cultural heritage.
“The cathedral is a magnificent symbol of unity,” the rector said. “A sign of hope, because what seemed impossible has become possible.”
Saturday’s events will blend solemn religious tradition with an official presidential speech and cultural grandeur, starting with Ulrich symbolically reopening Notre Dame’s grand wooden doors.
Tapping them three times with a staff crafted from charred wood salvaged from the cathedral’s fire-ravaged roof, he will declare the cathedral open for worship once more.
Huguette Euphrasie’s 79-year-old mother, Marie-Yolande, is battling cancer. So as she stared intently up at Notre Dame’s towers, the daughter appealed Saturday to the cathedral for help, with a prayer on the day of the monument’s reopening.
“It has huge spiritual value for me,” Euphrasie said, gathering with people from around the world to watch the reopening from screens on nearby riverbanks. “It’s very moving.”
Among the thousands lining the Seine were Patricia and Cyrille Brenner, a devout Catholic couple who had traveled overnight from Cannes on the French Riviera. Though they weren’t invited inside, being part of the public viewing along the riverbanks felt like the fulfillment of a pilgrimage.
“It’s a bit like the Cannes festival,” said Patricia, 65. “You have to be there to experience it.”
Her husband Cyrille, 66, marveled at the cathedral’s restoration. For them, the fire – which spared sacred relics, statues, and the altar’s golden cross – held deeper meaning. “When you’re Christian, you tell yourself there are no coincidences,” he said. “If it happened, maybe God was saying, ‘We need to renew that fervor.'”
Solemn rituals
Psalms, prayers, and hymns will fill the cavernous space as the cathedral’s thunderous organ, silenced since the fire, is reawakened. The 8,000-pipe instrument, painstakingly restored and cleaned of toxic lead dust, will respond to the archbishop’s invocation, with four organists performing an improvised interplay of melodies.
Later in the evening, a star-studded concert will take center stage inside the cathedral and pay tribute to its resurrection and to those who labored to restore it, offering a universal message of harmony. Pianist Lang Lang, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and soprano Pretty Yende are among the world-famous artists slated to perform.
On Sunday, Ulrich will lead the inaugural Mass and consecrate the cathedral’s new altar, designed by contemporary artist Guillaume Bardet to replace the one crushed beneath the flaming spire in the blaze.
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The images were captured from a site visit by French President Emmanuel Macron inside the iconic cathedral.
Unity in times of global challenges
The reopening of Notre Dame comes at a time of profound global unrest, with wars raging in Ukraine and the Middle East.
For Catholics, Notre Dame’s rector said the cathedral “carries the enveloping presence of the Virgin Mary, a maternal and embracing presence.”
“It is a magnificent symbol of unity,” Dumas said.
The range of dignitaries coming to Paris from Africa to the Mideast and the U.S. underline the cathedral’s significance as a symbol of shared heritage and peace.
Macron’s political woes
The celebration is expected to give a much-needed boost to embattled Macron, whose prime minister was ousted this week, plunging the nation’s political scene into more turmoil.
The French president, who has called Notre Dame’s reopening “a jolt of hope,” will address the gathering. He had hoped the occasion would briefly silence his critics and showcase France’s unity and resilience under his leadership, and the achievement of restoring Notre Dame in just five years – a timeline that had seemed improbable to many.
Macron’s presidency now faces its gravest crisis after the government’s collapse this week in a historic no-confidence vote that toppled Prime Minister Michel Barnier.
The vote followed months of political gridlock after snap elections. Calls are now growing louder from opposition forces for Macron to resign. But he vowed Thursday to remain in office until the end of his term in 2027, and said he’ll name a new prime minister within days.
As France struggles with economic woes and social unrest, Notre Dame’s rebirth celebrations form a stark contrast to the crisis.
Security is tight for this global event
Security will be high through the weekend, echoing measures taken during the Paris Olympics earlier this year.
The le de la Cité – the small island in the River Seine that is home to Notre Dame and the historic heart of Paris- is closed to tourists and non-residents. Police vans and barriers blocked cobblestoned streets in a large perimeter around the island, while soldiers in thick body armor and sniffer dogs patrolled embankments. A special security detail is following Trump.
Public viewing areas along the Seine’s southern bank will accommodate 40,000 spectators, who can follow the celebrations on large screens.
For many, Notre Dame’s rebirth is not just a French achievement but a global one – after the reopening, the cathedral is set to welcome 15 million visitors annually, up from 12 million before the fire.
Following the 2019 fire, nearly $1 billion in donations quickly poured in from around the world, testifying to Notre Dame’s universal appeal.
Among those who traveled from afar for the reopening was Canadian Noelle Alexandria.
“It’s not the first time she (Notre Dame) has been nearly in ruin, and every time it’s happened, she’s always managed to bounce back. Not many of us could really say that we would do the same, be able to keep coming back no matter what tragedy strike us. But she has,” Alexandria said.
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John Leicester and Sylvie Corbet in Paris contributed.
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