This Saturday, December 7, the reopening ceremony of Notre-Dame de Paris will welcome numerous political, ecclesiastical and artistic figures.
After five years of work, Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral is preparing to reopen its doors this Saturday, December 7. According to information from Figarothe “invitations were worked out jointly between the diocese of Paris and the Presidency of the Republic”. Although no list has yet been circulated (it must be released the same day), certain personalities have already confirmed their arrival in France.
Indeed, this Tuesday, December 3, the President-elect of the United States announced his arrival on his social network Truth Social: “I have the honor to announce that I will travel to Paris, France, on Saturday to attend the reopening of the magnificent and historic Notre-Dame Cathedral, which was fully restored after a devastating fire five years ago.” This week he will make his first trip abroad since his victory in the American presidential election. He will meet Jill Biden, the current first lady of the United States, in Paris, as announced by the Élysée at the end of November.
According to Le Figaro, the King of the United Kingdom Charles III will join him at the ceremony, as well as the King of Morocco Mohammed VI and the King of Jordan Abdallah II. According to The Pointthey should stand alongside the sovereign of Spain Felipe VI. “As for the Scandinavian countries, King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden are caught up in the Nobel Prize concert, but it could be that their daughter, Princess Victoria, represents them,” adds the weekly.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella also responded positively to Emmanuel Macron’s invitation, as stated by the Italian daily Corriere della Sera. The Greek President, Ekaterini Sakellaropoulou, will also be present. On the other hand, the President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will not be able to make the trip, according to information from Franceinfo.
On the side of the European institutions, the President of the Commission Ursula von der Leyen, still in the news for her disagreements with Emmanuel Macron concerning the trade treaty with Mercosur, will also go to Paris for the reopening ceremony, as ‘the Commission indicated on Thursday.
The notable absence of Pope Francis
On Sunday, December 8, the inaugural mass will of course be presided over by the Archbishop of Paris Laurent Ulrich, in the presence of the President of the Republic and 170 bishops from all over the world for the occasion. They will be accompanied by “officials, patrons, invited jointly by the State and the diocese”, underlines the cathedral site.
Despite a visit planned for December 15 to Corsica, the Pope will definitely not be present on the square in front of Notre-Dame. “The star of the reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris is Notre-Dame de Paris” and François did not wish to “look away from him on this occasion”, assured Eric de Moulins-Beaufort, president of the Conference of the bishops of France, from Agence France-Presse.
Shortly after 9 p.m., the cathedral square will be transformed into a concert esplanade where many artists such as Clara Luciani, Vianney, Angélique Kidjo and Garou, emblematic figure of the musical Notre-Dame de Paris, will give voice .
Icons of classical music are also invited such as the Chinese pianist Lang Lang, the Franco-Swiss tenor Benjamin Bernheim, the Franco-American cellist Yo-Yo Ma, the Franco-Georgian pianist Khatia Buniatishvili, who participated in the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games, and the cellist Gautier Capuçon. DJ Michael Canitrot will close the evening with a performance mixing electro music and highlighting heritage.