The reopening program for Notre-Dame de Paris is being refined, more than five years after the fire that damaged the cathedral on April 15, 2019. “Our thirst is great to once again welcome the entire world under the vaults of the cathedral”declared Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich on Wednesday, November 13, during a press conference in Paris. “The time has come to find Notre-Dame”added the rector of the cathedral, Olivier Ribadeau Dumas.
November 29: Emmanuel Macron makes a final visit to the restoration site
The head of state, Emmanuel Macron, must make a final visit to the restoration site, completed as promised in five years. He will have to give a speech inside the cathedral, to thank in particular all those who have contributed to it, the Elysée indicated on Wednesday.
It must enter the frame and “You will stroll through the rebuilt cathedral, the splendor of which will be revealed in its entirety on this occasion”offering “an unpublished image (…) unknown until now, in living memory”a presidential adviser told reporters.
December 7: reopening ceremony
On December 7, President Emmanuel Macron will give a speech in the square, just before attending the liturgical reopening ceremony at the cathedral.
The Archbishop of Paris Laurent Ulrich declared at the end of October that the head of state would speak “in the cathedral” during the ceremony on December 7, at the end of which, around 9 p.m., Notre-Dame will be considered reopened.
But the Elysée assured on Wednesday that it had finally been decided that it would speak “a fairly short speech” instead “in the square”during a “secular time” before the liturgy. the authorities have “ensured that the principle of separation” between Church and State “to be respected”it was argued, sweeping the “beginnings of controversy” which had come up when talking inside was mentioned.
Foreign heads of state and government are invited to the Dec. 7 ceremony, the presidency said, without providing a list. The presidency has not commented on the announced absence of Pope Francis, although invited by Emmanuel Macron.
December 8: first public mass
The first public mass since the 2019 fire will take place the day after the cathedral reopens.
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Mr Macron will be present. “The President of the Republic, personally or as President of the Republic, is not prohibited from attending religious services” but he “never communicate”explained an Elysée advisor to Agence France-Presse.
The inaugural mass and consecration of the altar. “It will take place (…) at 10:30 a.m., presided over by the Archbishop of Paris”declared Olivier Ribadeau-Dumas, specifying that“More than 150 bishops from France and the world, priests and faithful representing the parishes of the diocese of Paris will be present at this mass”.
From December 8 to 14: open to the public until 10 p.m.
From Sunday, December 8 to Saturday, December 14, Notre-Dame will reopen, with an entrance “until 10 p.m.,” the cathedral’s rector, Monsignor Olivier Ribadeau-Dumas, announced on Wednesday.
A free ticketing system will allow people to reserve entry “the day before, the day before or the same day” of the visit, Sybille Bellamy-Brown, head of public management at the cathedral, said Wednesday during a press conference in Paris.
“Normal life will resume on December 16” clarified Bishop Olivier Ribadeau-Dumas. According to the Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, 15 million visitors are expected to visit the cathedral each year.
