PARIS (AP) — Notre Dame Cathedral will host its first Mass since 2019’s catastrophic fire on Sunday, a moment that transcends religious significance and becomes a powerful symbol of Paris’ resilience.
For Catholics, it marks the revival of the city’s spiritual heart, a place where faith has been nurtured for centuries. For the world, it means the rebirth of one of World Heritage’s most famous landmarks.
The event is both solemn and historic. Archbishop Laurent Ulrich will preside over the morning mass, including the dedication of a new bronze altar. This liturgy, attended by French President Emmanuel Macron, clergy, dignitaries and guests, is closed to the general public. Nearly 170 bishops from France and the rest of the world participate in this celebration, together with one priest from each of the parishes in the Diocese of Paris and one priest from each of the seven Eastern Rite Catholic Churches, accompanied by worshipers from these communities.
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It is a milestone in Notre Dame’s journey from ruin to resurrection – a process marked by extraordinary craftsmanship, nearly $1 billion in global donations and an unyielding determination to rebuild what seemed lost.
Later on Sunday, an evening mass will welcome the public who made reservations last week. The Associated Press learned that tickets for the service were claimed within 25 minutes, underscoring Notre Dame’s enduring ability to inspire awe, devotion and curiosity.
Public viewing areas along the Seine are expected to attract thousands more people to witness this historic moment from afar. What’s even more remarkable is that this is taking place in a country with a strong emphasis on secularism and low church attendance.
A sacred space reborn
The Sunday Masses follow Saturday evening’s ceremonial reopening, during which Archbishop Ulrich symbolically reopened the cathedral’s massive wooden doors by striking them three times with a staff made from charred beams salvaged from the fire. As the doors swung open, choirs filled the cathedral with song and the cathedral’s great organ – silent since the fire – resounded with majestic melodies.
Inside, the restoration reveals a cathedral transformed with now gleaming limestone walls stripped of centuries of grime. The restored stained glass windows project beautiful color patterns across the ship.
“No one alive has seen the cathedral like this,” said the Rev. Olivier Ribadeau Dumas, the rector of Notre Dame. “It has more than recovered – it has been reborn.”
During Sunday morning’s liturgy, the new altar will be dedicated, a crucial moment in Notre Dame’s return to full liturgical life.
The altar houses relics of five saints associated with Paris, including St. Catherine Labouré and St. Charles de Foucauld, continuing a centuries-old tradition of embedding sacred artifacts at the heart of worship services. The consecration, which involves holy water, chrism oil, incense and prayer, turns the altar into a sacred centerpiece of the cathedral.
A moment of unity
The reopening of Notre Dame is more than a religious milestone, it is a moment of cultural and national unity. Macron, who vowed to restore the cathedral within five years of the fire, attended Saturday’s ceremonies and called the project “a jolt of hope” for France, a country often divided by political crises.
The Sunday Masses underscore Notre Dame’s dual role as a place of worship and a symbol of communal resilience. They also ensure that members of the wider Catholic community can participate in the cathedral’s spiritual revival.
“It wasn’t just about restoring a building. It was about restoring the heart of the nation,” Dumas said.
Challenges overcome
The road to recovery is fraught with challenges. Lead contamination halted work, and the COVID-19 pandemic caused delays. Yet the project, overseen by architect Philippe Villeneuve, has been hailed as a triumph of human ingenuity and collective determination. Advanced fire prevention systems, including thermal cameras and a fogging system, have been installed to safeguard the cathedral’s future.
Villeneuve described the effort as “restoring not just a building, but the soul of a nation,” emphasizing the personal and national significance of the work.
A sacred future and ‘octave’
With its spire once again piercing the Parisian sky, Notre Dame is poised to reclaim its role as a global beacon of faith and art. The cathedral, which previously welcomed twelve million visitors a year, is expected to attract 15 million visitors in its new chapter.
This monumental revival is not limited to one day. Ulrich has announced an “octave” of celebrations – eight days of special religious services, each with its own theme, running through December 15. These daily liturgies, open to diverse groups from local parishioners to international pilgrims, emphasize Notre Dame’s role as a unifying spiritual hub.
