Pope Francis will be absent from the reopening ceremony of Notre-Dame de Paris, a decision which has caused much discussion, and which could be more political than we think.
“The star of the reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris is Notre-Dame de Paris” and Pope Francis did not wish to “look away from him on this occasion,” declared the president of the conference of bishops of France, Mgr Éric de Moulins-Beaufort. Enough to explain the absence of the pontiff at the reopening ceremony of the famous Parisian cathedral, Saturday December 7.
The pontiff still sent 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. But Francis’ decision to refuse the invitation from the Elysée still caused a lot of talk. Especially since he will go to Corsica the following week.
A religious institution reduced to a tourist monument?
“Not to steal the show”… Is that the only reason? The pope has already traveled to France twice – to Strasbourg in 2014 and Marseille in 2023 – but he has never made a state visit and has never been to Paris. His decision to prefer Corsica to Notre-Dame therefore seems rather political. Since the start of his pontificate in 2013, Pope 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 “thought of 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 global tourism. A question that it is still too early to answer. But who may have played a role in Pope Francis’ decision.