After a 5-year restoration following the devastating fire in 2019, Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral is set to reopen on 8 December. According to officials, the building is ready to welcome “the whole world”.
“We have so much to rebuild. So yes, we will rebuild Notre Dame Cathedral even more beautifully, and I want it to be completed within five years. We can do it, and we will do it”, French president Macron said in a statement on 16 April 2019, while the fire in the Notre Dame was still smouldering.
A little over 5 years later, it seems like he has kept his promise. The near-life size statue of the Virgin and Child, which came out of the fire unharmed, has already been returned home on 15 November and, on 29 November, the construction site of the Notre Dame will officially be closed by President Macron and Archbishop Ulrich. A special ceremony will be held inside for the nearly 2,000 craftsmen, artists and employees who worked on the reconstruction, all of whom will receive a commemorative diploma for their work.
The grand reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral, however, is scheduled for the weekend of 7-8 December. Even though Macron initially wanted to address the nation from inside the cathedral, this caused much uproar given the 1905 French law outlining the separation of church and state. Instead, the president will thus give a speech from the courtyard in front of the cathedral.
“It will be a republican and secular moment before a religious and musical moment in Notre-Dame”, the Élysée said in a statement.
Once the presidential speech is over, Archbishop Ulrich will mark the reopening by banging on the front doors with his crozier. An organ performance of Magnificat by Johann Sebastian Bach will follow and the Te Deum will accompany all 2,000 invited, including celebrities such as Paul McCartney and Bono, but not Pope Francis, while they enter the Notre Dame. A religious opening ceremony will then be held and broadcast around the world, marking the official reopening around 9:00 pm.
Starting from 8 December, the Notre Dame will be “welcoming the whole world again”. The inaugural mass and the consecration of the altar will start at 10:30 am, under the supervision of the Archbishop of Paris and in the presence of president Macron, several heads of state, and over 150 bishops, priests and faithful.
Once the opening weekend is over, the cathedral will once again be open to everyone. Until 15 December, visitors will even be able to access the building until 10:00 pm. However, given the great number of potential visitors (up to 15 million per year), people are urged to book a slot beforehand.
“A free access system for specific time slots will be available a few days before the cathedral reopens”, the Notre Dame website explains, while also reaffirming access will stay free of charge.
Pilgrimage groups will only be able to visit the cathedral again from 1 February 2025 and cultural groups will be admitted from 9 June 2025.
