Notre-Dame Cathedral reopens five years after devastating blaze

After more than five years of intensive reconstruction work, the historic landmark Notre-Dame Cathedral, which is situated on an island in Paris, France, is returning this weekend.

The 12th-century Gothic masterpiece, which was gutted by a fire in 2019, has now been masterfully restored and will reopen to the public on Sunday following a ceremony on Saturday, which will be attended by a lineup of heads of state and top-level delegates from around the world.

Emmanuel Macron, the president of France, made a pre-opening visit to the site on November 29 with his wife, first lady Brigitte Macron, who had promised to restore the cathedral within five years of the catastrophe. The building’s thousands of workers were appreciative of the president’s reconstruction.

“The inferno of Notre-Dame was a wound for the nation, … and you were its remedy”, the president said.

What we know about the nearly 900-year-old cultural icon’s reopening five years ago is as follows:

What caused the fire at Notre-Dame?

The blaze broke out on the evening of April 15, 2019, on the roof of the cathedral. As smoke poured out of the building, orange flames exploded into the sky. More than 400 firefighters battled to put an end to the fire, which lasted for 15 hours.

Authorities believe the fire was probably caused by an electrical fault or a burning cigarette, but it’s still undetermined what caused it. Security personnel rang the alarm and evacuated the cathedral, but no one was hurt. However, three security officials were injured.

The cathedral’s interior and roof were largely destroyed by the time the fire was extinguished the following day. Its wooden and metal spire, which had been undergoing reconstruction work, collapsed.

The intricate wooden beams that supported it burned away, leaving a gaping hole all over the structure as its lead roof melts.

Some of the building’s religious relics and the building’s exposed artwork suffered severe damage. The cathedral’s interior stone walls were severely damaged by the vaulted stone ceiling, which also served as a fire abutment.

The cathedral’s wooden frame was centuries-old, and authorities had long marked it as a possible fire hazard. Still, it was a painful period for the French nation. A somber Paris was doomed by toxic lead dust that spread across it. In a moving speech on April 17, 2019, Macron promised to restore the monument in five years and restore it to its former splendor. For the first time since 1803, Notre-Dame did not hold a Christmas Mass that year.

How was the cathedral rebuilt?

Hundreds of donors, including some of France’s richest businesspeople, contributed more than 840 million euros ($889m) to the medieval building’s restoration campaign, which was launched by Macron. About 150 countries, among them the United States and Saudi Arabia, also contributed.

The restoration involved the work of about 2, 000 people, including craftspeople, architects and other professionals.

The cathedral’s lower stone walls were strewn with powerful vacuum cleaners and cleaning gels to remove the years of accumulated grime, dust, and soot. The intricate roof frame and spire were then rebuilt using hand-hewed giant oak beams. The roof’s roof was constructed using wood from about 2, 000 oak trees that were cut down.

Because the facade’s decorative features won’t be completely restored until the work is complete, scaffolding will cover some of the exterior for a few more years.

When is the reopening ceremony?

Notre-Dame is set to host a high-profile ceremony on Saturday with more than 50 heads of state and government, dignitaries and VIPs attending under tight security.

Donald Trump, the president-elect of the United States, will be one of them, making his first foreign trip to Paris since winning the election in November.

The president-elect stated in a post on his Truth Social platform on Monday that “President Emmanuel Macron has done a wonderful job ensuring Notre Dame has been restored to its full level of glory, and even more so.” It will be a very special day for everyone, the author declares!

Pope Francis will not be notably absent, but about 170 French bishops are expected to attend the ceremony.

The ceremony will be officially opened by Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich with a staff staff and then formally enters the cathedral’s closed-doors.

Three stages will be used to start the ceremony. The great organ, which is France’s largest, will be “awakened”. The organ is made of 8, 000 pipes and 115 stops. A series of psalms and prayers, including the Lord’s Prayer, will follow, after which Ulrich will give a final blessing.

The choir will sing Te Deum, a Latin hymn, to round off the service.

When is the cathedral’s public opening?

An inaugural Mass for dignitaries will begin at 10: 30am (09: 30 GMT) on Sunday. Macron is expected to be in the congregation.

The public can then purchase tickets for a second evening Mass on the same day using a first-come, first-served basis. Guests were able to book tickets, which are free of charge, online.

Source: Aljazeera