Catholic authorities in Paris are “thirsty” to welcome “the whole world” back to Notre-Dame, which will reopen its doors on December 8, more than five years after the April 2019 fire, the archbishop said from Paris Laurent Ulrich on Wednesday.
The building will reopen to the public on December 8 with entry possible “until 10 p.m. in the evening” the first week, explained the rector of the cathedral, Mgr Olivier Ribadeau-Dumas, during a press conference in Paris, specifying that “on December 16, ordinary life will resume”.
The reopening ceremonies will begin on December 7, including a speech by Emmanuel Macron on the square in front of the cathedral and a major concert whose headliners have not yet been revealed.
The inaugural mass and the consecration of the altar “will take place on Sunday 8 at 10:30 a.m., presided over by the Archbishop of Paris and always in the presence of the Head of State,” indicated Olivier Ribadeau-Dumas, specifying that “ At this mass, more than 150 bishops from France and the world, priests and faithful representing the parishes of the diocese of Paris will be present.
“Our thirst is great to welcome the whole world back under the vaults of the cathedral,” he declared Mgr Ulrich, assuring that “15 million visitors” are expected “every year”. “It is now time to find Notre-Dame,” added Mgr Ribadeau-Dumas.
“My responsibility and my primary concern have been to guarantee that Notre-Dame retains its spiritual dimension for the faithful of this diocese,” insisted Mgr Ulrich, who underlined his desire “that faithful from Paris be present at all the ceremonies of the December 7 and 8.
Likewise, charitable associations with which we work will also be present at the mass on the 8th and at the “fraternal buffet” which will follow, insisted the Archbishop of Paris.
A free ticketing system will allow individuals to reserve entry “the day before, the day before or the same day” of the visit, said Sybille Bellamy-Brown, head of public management at the cathedral.
Pilgrimages will be able to enter “from February 1” and, “from June 9, we will actually be able to bring in cultural groups” who will have registered in March, she added.
The number of visitors in the building is between 1900 and 3000 people, according to Mgr Ribadeau-Dumas.
