Notre Dame Cathedral reopened its doors Saturday in Paris over five years after a devastating fire nearly destroyed the 861-year-old Gothic wonder.
Notre Dame Cathedral is formally reopening its doors Saturday, more than five years after a devastating fire nearly destroyed the 861-year-old Gothic wonder at the center of the City of Lights.
Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris is expected to preside over the reopening with French President Emmanuel Macron and more than 1,500 invite-only guests, among them 50 heads of state, Prince William, first lady Jill Biden and President-elect Donald Trump, who made his first foreign trip since his presidential victory last month.
The event — the culmination of a painstaking, $760 million restoration project — is taking place on one of the Roman Catholic Church’s holiest days — the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, the belief that Mary, to whom the cathedral is dedicated, was conceived without sin.
The rites of the reopening of the massive, ironwork-covered oak doors, which survived the fire, are expected to begin with the archbishop striking the closed door with his staff. In response, Psalm 121 was sung three times. “The cathedral, which had been silent, will once again resonate with the song of praise, and on the third time, the doors will open.”
The ceremonial door opening will be followed with a three-part service — which is to start with the “awakening of the great organ,” where the Archbishop blessed the massive instrument.
The organ, which dates back to the 1730s, survived the fire, but its 8,000 pipes each needed to be removed and cleaned, and the process to tune it back to the cathedral’s acoustics took about six months.
The organ awakening will be followed by a hymn, along with a psalm, the canticle “Magnificat,” followed by prayers for the world and “The Lord’s Prayer.”
To conclude, the Archbishop will give a final blessing, and then the Latin hymn “Te Deum,” will be sung, organizers said.
