Pope Francis definitively ruled out the possibility of visiting France for the reopening of the Notre Dame cathedral on his re-turn flight on September 13 from Southeast Asia. Speaking during an in-flight press conference on the papal plane today, the pope resolutely stated: “I will not go to Paris.” French President Emmanuel Macron invited Pope Francis to visit Paris for the long-awaited reopening of the historic cathedral, which is set to take place on 8 December, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. Pope Francis traditionally celebrates the Marian feast with the city of Rome in the piazza at the foot of the Spanish Steps. In 2019 the world mourned the damage done to the medieval Paris cathedral by a fire that devastated the 315-foot-tall oak spire and timber roof of the eight-centuries-old cathedral.