Christmas celebrated for the first time since the fire

The Archbishop of Paris Laurent Ulrich is due to preside this Wednesday morning, December 25, over the Christmas Day mass at Notre-Dame de Paris, celebrating for the first time since the fire of 2019. In addition to this celebration scheduled for 11 a.m. (10 a.m. GMT) and broadcast on France 2, two other services are planned in the cathedral, at 8:30 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Access to Notre-Dame remains subject to a strict limit of 2,700 people, while enthusiasm remains strong for access to this building magnified by the writer Victor Hugo and glorified in various films, novels and musicals.

“Joy of living together again in this common house”

Tuesday, Christmas Eve, the cathedral attracted many faithful for several services, in particular for the traditional Midnight Mass. “Joy in heaven, peace on earth, Merry Christmas to all of you who are here in this cathedral to celebrate the feast of Christmas”said Mgr Ulrich to the Catholics gathered on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday in this 12th century Gothic masterpiece.

He had paid tribute earlier in a message to “talents deployed on the restoration site” who allowed “may the pain of the fire and the five years of separation be erased to leave only the joy of reunion, the joy of living together again in this common house, the house of God”.

Since the fire which devastated it on April 15, 2019, the cathedral had no longer hosted these Nativity masses celebrating, for Christians, the birth of Jesus.

“Feeling of hope, joy”

Marie-Christine Bascourret, a retiree dressed all in red, was able to attend the 4 p.m. mass on Tuesday. She told AFP she found this “Magnificent”. She decided at 2:00 p.m. and waited in line for an hour: “It gave me heart”. “It’s a special tradition. I came to mass here every year for ten years before the fire”explained for his part Daniel James, a 46-year-old American steward who lives in Seattle. “I’m so happy to come back, it’s so magical and special, it’s a feeling of hope, of joy.”

“Since 8 a.m. this morning (Tuesday), the line has been continuous”had testified Valentin Lacroix, responsible for controlling entries. Before 3 p.m., around a hundred people were waiting on the square: families, couples, coming from Paris, the provinces or even abroad.

“No reservations are possible for Christmas masses” and access to the cathedral is “within the limits of available places”specified the diocese of Paris. The Notre-Dame website therefore advises arriving 30 minutes before the time of the celebrations, “bearing in mind that queues can be long, with a risk of not being able to access the cathedral”. Florence Kergorrou, a Parisian, was surprised on Tuesday that the line moved so quickly to enter the cathedral. “We’re going to be early!”laughed the one who came to “associate the mass with the monument”, “kill two birds with one stone”.

Five years of colossal work

After five years of colossal work, Notre-Dame de Paris reopened on December 7, during a ceremony in the presence of several personalities including the American president-elect Donald Trump and the Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky.

For Catholics, this Christmas also marks the beginning of the Jubilee, the“Holy Year” 2025 of the Catholic Church opened Tuesday evening by Pope Francis from the Vatican. On the occasion of this great international pilgrimage, 30 million faithful from all over the world are expected in Rome.

Wednesday at 12 p.m. (11 a.m. GMT), during his traditional blessing “City and World” (“To the city and to the world”), the 88-year-old Argentine Jesuit should also renew his calls for a ceasefire in the Middle East and elsewhere in the world.