A official ceremony on December 7which will be attended by French President Emmanuel Macron and high-level guests, as well as a mass for the faithful on December 8 will reopen on Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral after a little over five years of restoration due to the serious fire of April 2019.
“It is a French success. All French people are called upon to rejoice,” Elysée sources said on Wednesday, confirming the first official details of the reopening, which will also include a evening with artists and cultural figures.
Macron will propose a speech on December 7 on the exterior esplanade of the cathedral, in order to respect the principles of secularism of the State, and the ceremonies inside Notre Dame will be led by Laurent Ulrich, Archbishop of Paris.
Despite the religious nature of the events and the presence of Macron at mass on the 8th, the Elysée underlined the republican character of the initial ceremony and its “addressed to all French people”not just to Catholics, “whatever their philosophy or beliefs.”
“What the French know how to do best is build, it’s a city of builders,” the sources underlined, in addition to emphasizing that it will also be a moment of celebration at the international level, since the fire of April 15, 2019. This shocked not only France, but also the world.
Absence of the Pope
For the moment, the French presidency has not confirmed the details of the personalities invited to the reopening on the 7th, but the diocese has announced that there will be heads of state.
The Elysée also avoided commenting on the absence of Pope Francis in the events and left the clarifications in the hands of the religious authorities of Paris and the Vatican.
Francisco” declared that will not come to Paris”the Archbishop of Paris officially announced at a subsequent press conference, where he also clarified that he had been aware of this decision “for a long time”.
Ulrich explained that the Pope “wants to focus on difficult situations” occurring in the world, in countries that suffer from serious problems or wars, or in which there are very few Christians. “This is the way he believes he should exercise his ministry,” he added.
As for the mass on the 8th, which will consecrate the cathedral and ensure the religious continuity of the more “republican” demonstrations on the 7th, participation will be open to all. followers of religious associations in Paris.
Partial visits
On the same day, the temple will also open at partial visits, an event for which a telematic reservation application will be launched, as detailed by the archdiocese.
Before all these events, Macron will visit the works of Notre-Dame for the last time on November 29 and this date will offer a first glimpse of the new appearance of the temple, with stones of “dazzling whiteness”.
On that day, Macron will also thank everyone who participated in the restorations and the donors who financed them for their efforts.
It is a project which benefited from a budget of 700 million euros, even if the following years Restoration work must continue in certain parts of the cathedral that are still fragile, such as the buttresses which decorate the nave.
Other work is also still in progress, such as the installation of contemporary stained glass windows in the cathedral, an approach launched by the archdiocese and supported by Macron which has been full of controversies, or even campaigns to demand respect for ancient stained glass windows. .
