If Pope Francis sent a letter to the French for the reopening of Notre-Dame, his absence from the ceremony could mark a political decision.
D-1 before the reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris. On the program, a large mass open to the public and a show. But Pope Francis will be largely absent from the celebrations. A decision which has caused a lot of discussion and which raises questions. The pontiff in fact refused the invitation sent by the Élysée for the reopening of the cathedral on Saturday December 7. He instead decided to go to Corsica the following week.
“The star of the reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris is Notre-Dame de Paris” and Francis did not want to “look away from him on this occasion,” declared the president of the conference of bishops of France, Mgr Éric de Moulins-Beaufort. But he won’t be completely absent, after all. Francis still decided to write a letter to the Archbishop of Paris. A text “intended for the French” which will be read “at the start of the celebration” of the reopening, announced Thursday, December 5, the rector-archpriest of the cathedral Olivier Ribadeau-Dumas.
A religious institution reduced to a tourist monument?
But is this the only reason? The pope has already traveled to France twice – to Strasbourg in 2014 and to Marseille in 2023 – but he has never made a state visit. His decision to prefer Corsica therefore seems rather political. Since the start of his pontificate in 2013, Francis has wanted to reach populations historically ignored by the Catholic Church, particularly those practicing popular piety, at the heart of the congress in Corsica. But wouldn’t shunning Paris also be a sign of rejection of French politics? In an editorial, The Point points out the fact that Saturday’s event was not “designed and organized by the Church to celebrate Notre-Dame but by the Élysée”.
The cathedral reopening ceremony marks the president’s ambition to restore the cathedral in five years. A deadline that few believed in after the cathedral fire in 2019, and which he nevertheless respected. Emmanuel Macron achieved a “tour de force […] that no other country could have achieved”, even praised The Economist. While France is experiencing an unprecedented political crisis, the president – who refuses to resign – declared at the end of November that the reopening will be “a shock of hope” for the French. An event which therefore loses much of its religious dimension.
Did the politicization of the monument motivate the absence of the Pope? A few weeks ago, the Archbishop of Paris made a point of recalling that Notre-Dame is above all a religious monument, notes Franceinfo. “Don’t just see the magnificent stones. Remember that this is a gift from God and for God,” he said. And Vaticannews wondered if Notre-Dame risks losing its spiritual dimension and being reduced to the status of a mecca for world tourism. A question that it is still too early to answer. But who may have played a role in Pope Francis’ decision.