On the evening of December 7, the opening ceremony of Notre Dame Cathedral, which has been under repair since 2019 due to a large-scale fire, occurred in Paris.
In the evening, the cathedral bells rang, marking the beginning of the ceremony.
After that, the Archbishop of Paris, Monsignor Ulrich, opened the cathedral doors, symbolically knocking on them with a baton. He was accompanied by the clergy.
At the ceremony, a film about the fire and the reconstruction of the cathedral was shown, and then the rescuers and builders received a standing ovation. At that moment, the cathedral’s facade was illuminated with “Merci”.
Fire in Notre Dame The fire broke out on April 15, 2019. The fire destroyed the roof and spire of the building, and soot covered the walls, stained glass windows, and organ. It was a miracle that the section with the 13-ton bells was saved: if they had fallen, the cathedral’s walls might not have withstood.
Donations from all over the world were raised for the restoration of Notre Dame, and almost a billion dollars was raised. More than 250 companies and hundreds of experts restored the monument.