In just over a month, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris will be reopened, following five years of intensive restoration work to bring it back to life after the fire that almost destroyed the entire edifice in April 2019. President Emmanuel Macron will be present for the occasion and will give a speech—inside the cathedral, breaking with centuries-old tradition. The archdiocese has so far expressed no opposition.
Although the exact form of the opening ceremony is not yet known, certain elements have already begun to filter through, according to Le Figaro. The reopening of the cathedral will take place in two stages, on December 7th and 8th. The public inauguration ceremony will be held on December 7th in the presence of French President Macron. The archbishop of Paris, Msgr. Laurent Ulrich, gave a few details: “We may be cutting a ribbon, but what is certain is that I will be knocking on the cathedral door to signify that, once again, the clergy and the people are in the cathedral to serve God.” The ceremony will then include an “awakening of the main organ,” which has been completely dismantled, cleaned, and restored to working order after being damaged by the fire.
After some debate, it has been decided that Macron will give a speech inside the building, rather than on the forecourt, as is customary. The archbishop was initially not in favour of the idea but ended up giving in to the president. This will be the first time that a head of state has given a speech inside the cathedral. On August 26th, 1944, on the occasion of the liberation of Paris, General de Gaulle attended a Te Deum in the cathedral for a fifteen-minute ceremony, but did not speak on that occasion. His public speech had taken place the day before, on August 25th, in the forecourt of the Hôtel de Ville.
More details will be announced on November 13th, but the archbishop has already defended this questionable choice with practical arguments: “It was too complicated to imagine crowding people in front of the cathedral and then going inside, the whole affair is too long.”
The news of Macron’s speech was greeted with indignation by various segments of French opinion. The Left criticised the breach of the 1905 law separating church and state. From the Right, the head of state was criticised for his pride in refusing to submit to centuries-old customs.
Meanwhile, controversy continues over the installation of contemporary stained glass windows—to replace the 19th-century grisaille windows—that Macron, the archbishop, and the Ministry of Culture are planning, against the advice of heritage conservation committees. Final projects must be submitted during the week of November 4th.
Sunday, December 8th, will see the first Mass in the restored cathedral, and the consecration of the new altar, to mark the feast of the Immaculate Conception.
After that, Notre Dame will be reopened for six months, until Pentecost, which falls on June 8th. Three Masses will be celebrated each day, and the cathedral will host pilgrimages from parishes and dioceses. Despite the importance of the event, which is expected to be seen worldwide, Pope Francis has announced that he does not intend to attend the inauguration, after having been invited to do so.
