Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral reopens to worship and visitors this Sunday, December 8, 2024, five years after the terrible fire that ravaged it on April 15, 2019 and the strong emotion that this disaster aroused throughout the world. A mass of inauguration and consecration of the altar is celebrated on Sunday at 9:30 a.m. UT – after a more political service on Saturday December 7 afternoon in the presence of religious leaders and heads of state including French President Emmanuel Macron who was to speak a speech on the square in front of Notre-Dame.
“Religions of the World” will be exceptionally broadcast live at 10:10 a.m. UT to bring you this moment on RFI, with interviews and reports and insights into the songs and the liturgy.
The stone has been cleaned and regained its shine, the restored cathedral is brighter, “ like no one had ever seen her”even the chief architect of historical monuments, Philippe Villeneuve, tells us: “Our Lady will deliver to the world an image that no living person has ever seen”. An immense challenge, thanks to a symphony orchestrated between all the trades and the companions who intervened on the site, like Arnaud Morançais, stonemason: “We all worked at the same time, we really had the impression of being builders on a cathedral construction site.”
For Philippe Jost, president of the public establishment “Rebâtir Notre-Dame” – who succeeded General Georgelin who died in August 2023, “it is the culmination of a collective human adventure which united us all around this monument which has a soul. It is a monument that speaks to the whole world: it is a sanctuary, with this dimension that transcends, but it is also an extraordinary heritage monument for its beauty, what it represents in the history of art, but it is also a monument which tells the story of Paris and the history of France and I think that all this contributes to the soul of this monument”.
The Rector of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, Mgr Olivier Ribadeau-Dumas, who was ordained priest in this cathedral 34 years ago, was able to visit the construction site on several occasions, he impatiently awaits the reopening for worship. “I was thrilled during the fire, I think that finding the people of Paris with their pastors to celebrate together the joy of Christian life is an occasion for hope and immense thanksgiving.”
Guest in studio :
Arnaud Aliberteditor-in-chief at La Croix, Assumptionist priest.
Speakers :
-Philippe Villeneuve, chief architect of historic monuments, in charge of the restoration of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral
– Philippe Jost, president of the public establishment Rebuilding Notre-Dame de Paris
– Mathieu Lourshistorian of cathedrals, specialist in the architecture of religious buildings, their liturgical, social and political uses. Author of several works, The grace of cathedrals. An aesthetic of the sacred » (Ed. place des Victoires), « In the time of the cathedrals » (Ed. du Cerf), « The Resurrections of Notre-Dame » (collective work, Éd. place des Victoires), the official book of the restoration “Rebuilding Notre-Dame de Paris” (Éd.Tallandier).
– Pascal Larsonneur, companion, chief sculptor
– Arnaud Morançais, journeyman, stonemason
– Marie Parant, mural painting restorer
– French and Venezuelan visitors and faithful in front of the square, before reopening.
To go further:
Number 7 of The Factory of Notre-Dame (the restoration site magazine).