The famous cathedral located in the heart of Paris is hosting its first mass since the devastating fire in April 2019.
After the reopening on mondovision on Saturday evening with a ceremony attended by dozens of heads of state – including the American Donald Trump and the Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelensky, the public, less numerous, was massed near the barriers and in front of the giant screens Sunday morning to follow this mass, on this day of celebration of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary.
Celebrated from 10:30 a.m. (09:30 GMT) by the Archbishop of Paris Laurent Ulrich, it will be punctuated by the consecration of the altar and biblical readings, and should last more than two hours.
At the start of the mass, Mgr Ulrich greeted the faithful “with intense emotion”, “whether you are present in this cathedral or in front of a screen, perhaps even in the rain”.
As the day before, several heads of state are authorized to attend mass, including Emmanuel Macron, alongside 150 people in precarious situations – who will then be invited to a lunch -, 150 bishops from France and the world, as well as as one priest from each of the 106 Parisian parishes and the seven Eastern Rite Catholic churches.
“Oui”
The French president, who gave a speech inside the cathedral on Saturday evening, will not take communion, the Elysée clarified, while respect for the separation of Churches and State regularly gives rise to controversies in France.
Inside Notre-Dame, Patrick Orhand, a 68-year-old Catholic relief volunteer, came to “pay tribute to all these people, for the energy they put into restoring Notre-Dame”. The amazed retiree “watched the reopening ceremony all day on TV (Saturday)”.
Notre-Dame de Paris reopens to the public with its first masses in five years: “It is a symbolic monument, for us Christians and for France”
Not far away, Florence Leroux, 51, is one of the faithful who came to represent her parish of Saint-Pierre de Montmartre. At the beginning “I didn’t think I could come. When I was asked to be a banner bearer, I immediately said yes”, she rejoices.
Access to morning mass was by invitation. And if the second, at 6:30 p.m. (5:30 p.m. GMT), is planned for the general public, a reservation is necessary to access it. The ticket office having been stormed as soon as it opened on Tuesday morning, no more slots are available, neither for Sunday mass nor for those of the following week.
“Free”
The diocese is organizing an “octave” week until next weekend with two daily masses, at 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. local time. A highlight of the week will be the return, Friday afternoon, of the crown of thorns to Notre-Dame.
For visitors wishing to admire the blond walls, the minimalist furniture and the partially restored stained glass windows without attending a mass, access to the cathedral will be possible from Monday 3:30 p.m. (2:30 p.m. GMT) – again by reservation.
After these reopening ceremonies, the crowds are expected to last, with the diocese of Paris now expecting 14 to 15 million visitors each year.
Pope Francis pleaded on Saturday to continue to welcome visitors “free of charge”, while the resigning French Minister of Culture Rachida Dati threw a spanner in the works by mentioning paying entry.
The sovereign pontiff spoke in writing, having declined the invitation to this sumptuous ceremony – an absence all the more notable as he will go to Corsica next weekend, on the occasion of a modest conference on popular religiosity.
The exceptional security system remains unchanged on Sunday, with 6,000 police and gendarmes mobilized, according to a security source.
