Notre-Dame, renovated beyond recognition, reopened with great grandeur

The president preferred to speak inside. But because of the strict separation between church and state in France, prior to the reopening of Notre-Dame, a marquee was built on the square in front of the cathedral for what is called the ‘republican ceremony’. Emmanuel Macron would attend the ‘religious opening ceremony’ on Saturday, just like on Sunday morning at the first mass, as a guest. But that complicated organization, which was preceded by weeks of consultation between Elysée and the diocese, was not expected from the stormy autumn weather. Emergency breaks law, even if it involves French certainties such as the laïcité Re.

So it is in the cathedral where Macron takes the floor. And he says everything you expect from a French president at such a moment. “We have rediscovered what great nations can do: make the impossible possible.” According to Macron, Notre-Dame, and now also its resurrection, shows that “our dreams, even the most daring” are only achieved through collaboration.

It was Macron himself who, the day after the devastating fire on April 15, 2019, promised to rebuild the 850-year-old monument within five years. The church would become “even more beautiful,” he said. After which his then Prime Minister suggested a design competition for a new roof and a new spire. The most lavish suggestions, including one for an all-crystal spire by Norman Foster, were doing the rounds.

But in 2020, chief architect Philippe Villeneuve made the decision: the cathedral would “à l’identique” be rebuilt. He referred to the 1964 Venice Charter, which requires that a monument be restored to its last known condition. That was the state in which the equally celebrated and controversial restorer Eugène Viollet-le-Duc (1814-1879) left the building in the nineteenth century. The spire, which burned down completely in 2019, is his design, based on his idea of ​​Gothic architectural style. He also added other elements. Rebuilding Viollet-le-Duc’s church was the most practical, Villeneuve acknowledged. To meet the five-year deadline, this was the least risky choice.

Craftsmen are the heroes

The fact that the little-loved president, who has just ended up in a new political crisis, has kept his word is not so much a stroke of luck as a matter of course for many French people. It is mainly the merit of the more than two thousand craftsmen who rebuilt the cathedral with medieval precision and techniques. They will receive a round of applause in church on Saturday, just like the firefighters who are sitting in full uniform at the back of the church, their gold-colored helmets pushed under the church chairs.

Macron speaks passionately about the “brotherhood of a people determined to make big choices.” But the carpenters, glaziers, coppersmiths, masons and sculptors “are the real heroes,” says a 22-year-old worshiper who tries to follow the first mass in Notre-Dame in the rain on a large screen along the Seine on Sunday morning . The restorers, whose professional honor is highly regarded, especially in France, have now become national celebrities through their many television appearances.

The result is impressive. The cathedral has been renovated almost beyond recognition. In recent decades, Notre-Dame was a rather dark church, with gray-gray pillars and vaults where the dirt of centuries seemed impossible to wipe off. Now the limestone looks like new.

In addition to the antique art treasures saved from the fire by intrepid art historians in 2019, contemporary work now hangs on the wall. The new altar, a bronze colossus by furniture designer Guillaume Bardet, seems to have fallen straight from heaven. And Christ’s alleged crown of thorns, one of the most important rescued relics, now hangs in a state-of-the-art cabinet by architect Sylvain Dubuisson. Even the clergy have been dressed up for the occasion: couturier Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, who previously also worked for Beyoncé and Lady Gaga, designed a very colorful, liturgical clothing line.

Parish of the nation

Moments before Macron spoke inside, the Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, stood outside in the pouring rain in his new outfit with his staff banging on the immense doors of the church. “Open your gates!” he shouted, clearly audible to everyone in the cathedral. The choir responded in unison: “Behold, the dwelling place of God among men.” Later in the ceremony there was a similarly moving dialogue between the archbishop and the immense organ under the rose window. “Awake, organ, sacred instrument,” Ulrich led the way. The response to that blessing was lightning and thunder from more than 8,000 pipes, which shook the church.

But the ceremony on Saturday is mainly political in nature and once again shows that Notre-Dame is more than a place of worship for France. The reopening was, according to sources in the Élysée, “a metaphor for the life of the nation.” Heritage expert Maryvonne de Saint-Pulgent said against this week Le Monde that the church has actually been the place “where political power and faith came together” since the eighteenth century. For her, Notre Dame is “the parish of the nation.”

Macron is now once again using the international image of Paris for French diplomacy. This is how Donald Trump is present. He is not yet president, but he manages by protocol to sit in the front row next to Macron. Volodymyr Zelensky is among the dozens of heads of state and government. He and Trump spoke about the war at the Élysée. According to an adviser to the Ukrainian president, this was “hopeful”. The entire French political top and business elite are also in the church.

Politicians who have proposed making admission to Notre-Dame, France’s most visited monument until 2019, paid, are being criticized by the Pope himself. In a message read out, Francis makes it clear that Notre-Dame must remain accessible to everyone.

In the meantime, nothing can be seen of the fire in the brand new church. At least, almost nothing. The only trace is a drop of lead from the collapsed roof in the hand of Jesus in the Pieta statue under the cross. It is one of the miracles that French media did not talk about five years ago: the burning spire fell straight down into the cathedral and landed at the feet of Mary with Jesus in her arms. The statue remained undamaged, except for that drop. “Our cathedral,” Macron said on Saturday evening, “reminds us that we are heirs of a past that is bigger than us, that can disappear any day.”

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