Reopening of Notre-Dame: a message from the Pope added to the program of celebrations

Speech by Emmanuel Macron, religious ceremony, concert… and a message from the Pope “to the French”: two days before the reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral, burned in April 2019, the program of celebrations This was further clarified on Thursday.

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Francis, who will not attend the reopening ceremonies on Saturday and Sunday, “sent a message to the Archbishop of Paris, intended for the French, which will be read at the start of the celebration on December 7,” indicated the rector- archpriest of the cathedral, Olivier Ribadeau-Dumas, during a briefing with the press.

The pope, however, is due to go to Ajaccio in Corsica on December 15, for a congress on religiosity in the Mediterranean.

The celebrations at Notre-Dame will begin at 7 p.m. on the cathedral square with the broadcast of a film retracing the events since the fire of April 15, 2019, the causes of which have not been determined, and paying tribute to the rescuers of this masterpiece of Gothic art, more than 860 years old, as well as the builders who renovated it, added the Élysée during this briefing.

A speech by the President of the Republic, in difficulty after censorship and the resignation of the government, is planned around 7:30 p.m., focusing in particular on the “art of being French”. It should last around fifteen minutes.

Before that, a text by the French poet Louis Aragon will be read by Comédie-Française member Éric Ruf, and a “musical moment” will be performed by the brothers Renaud and Gautier Capuçon, violinist and cellist.

“Address the cathedral”

Then will come the moment awaited by the whole world for more than five years: the reopening of Notre-Dame by the Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, in a sequence which will see him “address the cathedral” and “strike with his sticks on the doors,” said his vice-rector, Father Guillaume Normand.

M^gr Ulrich will then welcome guests to the building, whose new blonde colors were unveiled on Friday during a site visit by Emmanuel Macron. Among them, 35 heads of state and government, including future American President Donald Trump, have confirmed their presence, while this list is expected to grow, according to the Élysée.

A religious ceremony will begin around 8:15 p.m., for around 45 minutes, before a concert around 9:30 p.m. which should last between 2:15 and 2:30 a.m., organized by France Télévisions and co-broadcast by Radio France.

It will honor the Maîtrise Notre-Dame de Paris and the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted for the occasion by Venezuelan maestro Gustavo Dudamel.

Among the artists called up are also the Chinese virtuoso pianist Lang Lang, the South African soprano Pretty Yende and the Franco-Swiss tenor Benjamin Bernheim.

A pop touch will be brought by Clara Luciani, Vianney and Garou, three very popular artists in France, or the Franco-Beninese Angélique Kidjo.

While the names of Paul McCartney and Pharrell Williams have been mentioned, Véronique Creissels, communications director of the cathedral, wants to “keep a little bit of secret on the final list” of the artists involved.

Two masses

On Sunday, two masses are planned, at 10:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. The first, in the presence of Emmanuel Macron, heads of state and government as well as religious figures, will culminate in the consecration of the altar. The second will be open to the public, with registration.

An exceptional security system, inspired by that of the Paris Olympic Games this summer, is planned in a context of “very high level of terrorist threat”, according to the police headquarters, with 6,000 police officers and gendarmes mobilized.

Only guests will be able to access the square, the capacity of which is a maximum of 3,000 people. On the high quays near the cathedral, an “area will be set up” to accommodate a maximum of 40,000 people.

Extended opening hours, specific services and for the general public will follow one another until Pentecost, with a new free online reservation system to facilitate the flow of visitors, who numbered 12 million in 2017. The diocese is now expecting more “14 to 15 million” each year.

The reconstruction and restoration project will have mobilized 250 companies as well as hundreds of craftsmen; and cost nearly 700 million euros, financed by 846 million donations from around the world.

The remaining money will be “reallocated to urgent restorations of the exteriors” of the cathedral, according to Philippe Jost who took over the reins of the public establishment at the head of the project after the death of General Jean-Louis Georgelin in August 2023.