why Notre-Dame de Paris will light up in red this Wednesday evening

Notre-Dame de Paris will be illuminated in red on Wednesday evening, like many other religious buildings around the world, to “make visible the persecution of Christians”indicates in a press release the organizing association Aid to the Church in Need (AED).

“The red illumination of Notre-Dame de Paris is an exceptional event. We are delighted that the cathedral will be reopened very soon, and we do not forget all the Christians in the world who sometimes go to mass at the risk of their lives, and all these churches which are desecrated, destroyed, vandalized.affirms Benoît de Blanpré, the director in France of the AED which organizes, like every year, a «Red Week» (“red week”) from November 17 to 22.

Notre-Dame Cathedral, which is due to reopen on the weekend of December 7 and 8, will be illuminated from dusk, as will the Sacré-Cœur basilica in Montmartre. Throughout the week, prayer vigils are organized in various cities in France.

An initiative that extends to several countries

This «Red week» aims to “to alert the fate of millions of Christians who cannot live their faith freely. Hundreds of religious buildings around the world are lit in red, symbolizing the blood of martyrs.he adds.

This initiative, organized since 2015 during the third week of November, will concern in France in particular the sanctuary of Lourdes, the cathedrals of Ajaccio, Rennes, Amiens, Orléans and Bayonne as well as various churches.

It will also be held in several countries: Germany (cathedrals of Passau, Fribourg, Dresden…), Spain (Almudena cathedral in Madrid and Sagrada Familia in Barcelona), Austria (Vienna cathedral and Austrian parliament) and Slovakia, but also the Netherlands (150 Catholic and Protestant churches), United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Mexico, Australia and Chile.