French President Emmanuel Macron, center, is seen during a visit to Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris Nov. 29. The cathedral is set to reopen in early December, with a planned weekend of ceremonies on Dec. 7-8, five years after the 2019 fire that ravaged the world heritage landmark and toppled its spire. Some 250 companies and hundreds of experts were mobilized for the five-year restoration costing hundreds of millions of euros. OSV News photo/Christophe Petit Tesson, pool via Reuters
By OSV News
PARIS (OSV News) — The world was left stunned when first images of the rebuilt Notre Dame were published and spread with viral speed as President Emmanuel Macron walked through the bright, unrecognizably beautiful Parisian cathedral on Nov. 29, a week ahead of the Dec. 7-8 official reopening. Accompanied by first lady Brigitte Macron, the president was welcomed on the forecourt of the cathedral by Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris and the rector-archpriest of Notre Dame Cathedral, Father Olivier Ribadeau Dumas. As he entered the cathedral, he shared with them his first impression — describing the cathedral’s interior as “sublime,” evoking the inner light that now characterizes it. All traces of construction work had disappeared for this visit, and the liturgical furnishings had been installed. The only thing missing were the chairs. The nave was empty and spacious. The light from its white stone and cleaned stained-glass windows now make the cathedral appear much larger than when it was dark. After his visit, President Macron posted a picture on X, formerly Twitter, with over a thousand trade workers inside the cathedral, with a comment: “Achieving the impossible together. That’s France.” Confirming the team effort, stonemason Briac Thomas said, “Working together at Notre Dame helped make this an exceptional project, one that will go down in the history of French heritage restoration and conservation. … We have all left a bit of ourselves in these stone walls.”