The reconstruction work has lasted five years, exactly the time that has passed since the afternoon of April 15, 2019, an important part of the Notre Dame Cathedral – built between 1163 and 1345, a cultural symbol of Europe and Christianity – was destroyed. consumed in a terrible fire. The reopening ceremony will take place on December 7 and 8, and is conceived as a great party for France and the city of Paris. But it is also a first-rate political opportunity for the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, to raise his international chest after several twilight months after the elections last June. And, partly for this reason, they suspect in Paris, Pope Francis has refused to participate in the inauguration.
A liturgical ceremony will be celebrated on Saturday, December 7, followed by a mass the next day. Macron will attend both events to praise what the Elysée calls “a form of regeneration of the building.” Dozens of heads of state are invited that day – the list has not yet been revealed, but there is speculation about the presence of the president of the United States, Joe Biden, in what could be his last visit to Europe in office – and it was planned that Macron made a speech inside the cathedral. However, the plan clashed head-on with the idea of the secularism of the Republic, the backbone of the French State. Many also saw a too clear attempt to appropriate the scene. So, finally, Macron plans to “give a fairly short speech to explain how he has conceived this restoration,” Elysée sources explained.
Things have changed abruptly in recent weeks. The Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, declared at the end of October that the head of state would speak “inside the cathedral” during the ceremony on December 7, at the end of which, around 9:00 p.m., Notre Dame would be considered officially reopened. . However, on Wednesday the Elysée assured that it had finally been decided that he would deliver “a fairly short speech” and rather “in the atrium”, during a “secular moment” prior to the liturgy. The authorities have “taken care that the principle of separation” between Church and State is respected, thus dismissing the “beginnings of controversy” that arose when the possibility of a speech inside the cathedral was mentioned.
The inauguration represents a new opportunity for the President of the Republic, as the Olympic Games were, to leave behind the political problems of recent months and shine internationally again. Macron promised the day after the temple fire that it would be rebuilt within five years, coinciding with the Olympic Games. It seemed like a promise like so many others, hasty and without reflection. And in part it was, but he took it as a personal matter and, although a few months late, he can now say that he has complied with the French. And it is no small thing in the final stretch of his mandate, which will expire in 2027 if there are no new political incidents beforehand.
The same Elysée sources did not comment on the announced absence of Pope Francis, even though he had been invited by Macron. The first public mass since the 2019 fire will take place the day after the cathedral reopens. It especially stings that the Vatican is planning a trip to Corsica just a few weeks later, but does not want to attend an event of this caliber. Those who know Francis consider him to be the most normal in his way of acting, far from this type of ceremonies that can end up becoming acts for the greater glory of the politicians who promote them and far from the religious issue. The official reason, however, is that it coincides with a consistory in Rome to create 21 new cardinals. In addition, Francisco usually goes that day to pay tribute to the Immaculate Conception in the Spanish Steps in Rome. But both dates could have been combined.
Macron will be present at the mass. “It is not prohibited for the President of the Republic, whether in his personal capacity or in his capacity as president, to attend religious services,” but “he never takes communion,” explained an Elysée advisor. The inaugural mass and the consecration of the altar “will take place (…) at 10:30, presided over by the archbishop of Paris,” declared the rector of the cathedral, Olivier Ribadeau-Dumas, detailing that “more than 150 bishops will be present at this mass.” from France and the world, priests and faithful representatives of the parishes of the diocese of Paris.” From Sunday, December 8 to Saturday, December 14, Notre Dame will be open, with admission “until 10 p.m.,” Ribadeau-Dumas announced on Wednesday.
The restoration of the cathedral has been complete. The fall of the burning spire of Notre Dame, built in the mid-19th century by architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, remained the iconic image of the fire. Therefore, how it was rebuilt was going to be decisive for the future image of Notre Dame. Finally, a completely faithful reproduction of the original was chosen.
