The doors of the newly restored Notre-Dame of Paris Cathedral were officially reopened to the public during a ceremony on December 07 just over five years after a blaze ravaged the iconic structure’s roof, frame, and spire. The celebration, which began at around 7:20 p.m. local time, was attended by some 1,500 people, including about 40 heads of state, including U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Breaking five years of silence, the bell of Notre-Dame, known as the “bourdon,” rang out across Paris. This was the first step in the reopening office, initiated by three knocks on the cathedral’s central portal, the Portal of the Last Judgment, by the archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich. The opening of the doors was set to the music of the polyphonic piece “Totus Tuus,” composed in 1987 by Henryk Gorecki during Pope John Paul II’s visit to Poland and sung by the 150 young members of the Maîtrise de Notre Dame.
“May the rebirth of this admirable church be a prophetic sign of the renewal of the Church in France,” Pope Francis said in a letter read by the apostolic nuncio of France, Archbishop Celestino Migliore, after a tribute to the firefighters who saved the 800-year-old cathedral from the flames and the French president’s speech. ”I invite all the baptized who will joyfully enter this cathedral to feel a legitimate pride and reclaim their faith heritage,” he added.