notre-dame cathedral opens in paris five years after the fire

Notre-Dame Cathedral scheduled to open on December 8th, 2024

Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, France reopens on December 8th, 2024, five years after the fire ravaged the church. Since the fire on April 15th, 2019, the cathedral has been closed to the public. Starting December 8th, 2024, the public can access the Notre-Dame Cathedral again, welcoming visitors from Paris and all over the world into its reconstructed architecture. The day before, an opening ceremony is set to take place starting 5pm until midnight, led by Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris and in the presence of the President of the Republic. The opening ceremony, which extends to December 8th, is also graced by the officials, donors, representatives of all the parishes of Paris, members of the cathedral chapter, and the Parisian clergy.

Between December 8th and 15th, there are masses at 10:30am and 6:30pm (but an invitation card is required to access the morning slot). Before the scheduled opening, the restoration team at Rebâtir Notre-Dame de Paris installed the spire in December 2023. Following that, the statue of the Virgin and Child, known as Our Lady of Paris, returns to the Notre-Dame Cathedral on November 15th, 2024, ahead of the reopening the next month. The statue was miraculously spared from the fire, and the restoration team brought it to the church of Saint-Germain-l’Auxerrois where it had been safeguarded until its return.

all images courtesy of Notre-Dame de Paris, unless stated otherwise | stills courtesy of Rebâtir Notre-Dame de Paris

Reopening of the cathedral in paris five years after fire

The reopening of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris sees a number of renovations from designers and companies forming the Atelier de Notre-Dame. It includes the fabrication of liturgical furniture, chairs, and the reliquary for the Holy Crown of Thorns, designed respectively by Guillaume Bardet, Ionna Vautrin, and Sylvain Dubuisson for the church. The restoration team says that the lighting, sound, renovation of the treasury, and interior arrangements are also to be installed in time for the reopening, alongside the 1,500 chairs planned, benches, kneelers, and prie-dieux, designed by Ionna Vautrin.

Guillaume Bardet, who has been tasked to design liturgical vessels and objects that will be used upon reopening, is scheduled to bring in the ciboria, a chalice, paten, monstrance, censer, basin, ewer, cruets, and a tray. Designer Vincent Dupont-Rougier has been commissioned to produce the devotional candle holders and distancing devices, while the diocese has selected Jean-Charles de Castelbajac to design the liturgical vestments for the reopening. The Notre-Dame Cathedral team expects an estimated 15 million annual visitors once the reopening begins, and during the first six months, until Pentecost 2025, access is restricted to visitors and worshippers. This means group visits are only allowed after this period.

The news was updated on December 6th, 2024, to include the timings of the ceremonies in time for the reopening.