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Everything You Need to Know for Notre Dame’s Reopening

Notre Dame

Notre-Dame Cathedral reopened its doors to the public on December 8th for its first mass since the devastating fire on April 15, 2019. This article details the full schedule of opening events and ceremonies, the changes to expect after the extensive renovations, and the new reservation system for visitors (available in the Google Play Store Android app, in the Apple App Store, and on the official website).

Restoration Highlights and Changes Inside the Cathedral

The 850-year-old cathedral has undergone extensive restoration efforts over the past five years to bring it back to its former glory. In addition to the new spire, cross, and golden rooster you can already see on the exterior of Notre Dame, there will be many new things to see in the interior as well. Some things have been completely restored to how they looked in previous centuries such as the painted chapels, reconstituted statues, and the checkered flooring (which was heavily damaged by falling debris during the fire).

There will also be some contemporary touches in the décor according to Olivier Ribadeau Dumas (Recteur-Archiprêtre of Notre-Dame Cathedral): “the liturgical furniture, the seats, the reliquary case, the religious vestments, the lighting, the sound, and even the signage within the cathedral, everything was thought out with extreme ambition and great coherence, placing the liturgy at the heart of the project and integrating it into the ‘soul’ of Notre-Dame, its history, seeking to speak to as many people as possible.”

Artisan Creations for Notre Dame

The Crown of Thorns, which was normally in a reliquary box in the Treasury room of Notre Dame, and only brought out for special religious events like Advent, Easter or Christmas, now has a new vertical reliquary “frame” designed by Sylvain Dubuisson that will be housed in the axial chapel at the far eastern end of the cathedral. Inspired by the oriental tradition of Constantinople, where the King Louis IX (aka Saint Louis) bought c, the reliquary is presented in the form of a large altarpiece in cedar wood – like the wood of the Cross – set with bronze thorns inserted in increasingly wide notches. When on display, the Crown of Thorns will be at the center within the blue half-sphere in a halo of twelve concentric circles of glass cross motifs; the rest of the time, it will be locked away in the base of the reliquary, in the form of a marble “tomb-altar”; those are LED candles on top…they’re not taking any chances! The manufacture of the reliquary shrine is entrusted to the Ateliers Saint-Jacques & Fonderie de Coubertin for the woodwork, foundry, stone and metal, and to the master glassmaker Olivier Juteau.

Olivier Ribadeau Dumas hopes the new design will “encourage contemplation when the Crown is presented to the faithful, but also when it is not visible. I really hope that people will be able to pass in front of this reliquary and demonstrate an act of piety, touch it, place a candle… The presence of the Crown of Thorns and the relics of the Passion in the axial chapel is not only an important moment in the cathedral’s walking tour, but also an essential element to encourage popular piety and devotion.” Click to see full sized:

The liturgical furniture (altar, bishop’s chair, ambo lectern, tabernacle and baptistery) were created by the French designer and sculptor Guillaume Bardet in sculpted bronze, chosen for its “noble simplicity”. The altar crucifix, candlesticks and vase placed under the statue of the Virgin and Child known as “Our Lady” are also in bronze. The same artist designed the 30 silver and gold liturgical objects used in the celebration of Catholic Mass, such as the chalice and censer (to carry the incense during processions).

There are new stands for the devotional candles visitors can purchase to light in the chapels (with a convenient credit card payment terminal built into it alongside the slot for cash payment) designed by Vincent Dupont-Rougier. The official votive candles for Notre-Dame come from the Ciergerie de Lourdes, located a few steps from the Lourdes Sanctuary in southwestern France. These paraffin candles are supposedly environmentally friendly, 100% biodegradable and compostable.

The chairs and kneelers were designed by Ionna Vautrin: “I wanted to create furniture that would interact with the thousand-year-old Gothic-inspired architecture of Notre-Dame, its arches, its columns, its stained glass windows, but also all its softness and transparency that move both the faithful and visitors from all over the world.” They don’t look that comfortable with the intentionally low back (so they can be used to lean on in prayer for those in the last row), but then again, church chairs in France rarely are! These solid oak chairs and kneeler are being made in Hagetmau, a village in the Landes region of France, by the family-owned Bosc chair manufacturers with wood from the forests of Sologne. They’ve kept the wood a pale blonde so it wouldn’t contrast too much with the newly-cleaned stone of the cathedral.

This may be one of the biggest changes people will notice when visiting Notre Dame, the almost ivory-colored appearance of the stone arches and vaulted ceilings, which had been mostly grey or even black from centuries of candle smoke and city pollution. There will also be completely new lighting that will inevitably add to the sensation of brightness that we’re not used to in Gothic churches. Designed by the Patrick Rimoux agency, this will include 10 architectural lighting scenarios, 30 liturgical scenarios and 10 concert scenarios, with 2175 light points and 1550 projectors, connected to a central control panel that can vary each light’s intensity and warmth from a spectrum of 2200K (the warm color of a candle), to 5000K (a cold white color).

And Now a Word from Our (Fashionable) Sponsors

And it wouldn’t be 21st-century Paris without the fashion industry’s involvement, so of course the new religious vestments are branded by the French aristocrat and clothing designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac for bishops, priests, and deacons to wear for the celebration of Mass and other services. Donated to the cathedral for the 700 celebrants who will be present at the reopening ceremonies, these colorful vestments will be used throughout the inaugural period until Pentecost on June 8, 2025. After that, look for them on Vinted (just kidding…maybe).

Videos: First Inside Peek!

Full Video of President Macron’s Visit on November 29th, 2024 (in French, but great footage!):

The Re-Opening Ceremony on December 7th in its entirety, without commentary or translations:

The Re-Opening Ceremony December 7th with a lot of commentary and translation of service:

One of the re-opening night concert performances, “Hallelujah” in French by Vianney:

The First Official Mass on December 8th:

Could It Be A Little Too Clean?

Looking at the videos, the restored Notre Dame looks so clean and new that I wonder if it will still have its historic atmosphere, or if it will feel like…a Disney cathedral. I don’t want to be a critic before the doors have even opened, and I hope I’m wrong (after all, those colors in the chapels are amazing!). But I can’t help but think of the way the Cluny Museum’s renovations “cleaned up and streamlined” its collection so thoroughly that it has completely lost the mysterious (and admittedly dusty) Medieval atmosphere that I loved. Of course the damaged floors have to be replaced, but how many times have you walked in wonderment across cracked and uneven church stones smoothed by centuries of pilgrims’ feet? With 15 million visitors a year, by the time our great-grandchildren visit, it may have its historic patina back. 😉

One contemporary change I’m not worried about is the addition of six new stained-glass windows in chapels along the south aisle depicting the theme of Pentecost. Eight artists have been chosen to compete for the final selection in November, including Daniel Buren of the famous black and white striped Buren columns at Palais Royal. These new windows will be replacing the bland neo-gothic grisaille panes added by Viollet-Le-Duc in the 19th century renovations that have zero artistic interest (even the description of them, grisaille, is the same word used by the French to describe gloomy grey weather). This is so controversial that you’ll see a lot of fake articles saying the 13th-century rose windows are being replaced, or that any contemporary art would ruin the cathedral’s historic heritage. But if this was true, then it was already “ruined” when 24 abstract-style stained-glass windows by the contemporary artist Jacques Le Chevallier were added in the 1960s (they’re on the second level, but if you look up while strolling through Notre Dame, you can’t miss them; also see them at 0:22 in the video above and the photos below). I also love the contemporary stained-glass windows in the Flamboyant Gothic church in the Latin Quarter, Saint Severin (worth a visit if you’ve never been).

Changes to the Visitor Experience

New Free Time Slot Reservation System

Its central location, free entrance, and worldwide fame meant Notre Dame Cathedral was already one of the most-visited monuments in Paris before the fire, with 12-14 million visitors per year. In anticipation of an estimated 15 million annual visitors expected once the cathedral reopens, Notre-Dame is implementing a new digital reservation system through the “Compagnon de Visite” app. Entrance will still be free (despite any rumors you’ve heard), but with only enough space for 3000 people at a time (1500 seated, 1500 standing) due to ongoing restoration work—which is expected to continue for several more years—the new online and smartphone app reservation system aims to prevent overcrowding and reduce waiting.

The “Compagnon de Visite” free reservation app can be download from the cathedral’s official website and on Android and Apple App Store. The time slots will be opened for reservations just two days in advance, so don’t expect to be able to reserve your spot months in advance (for example, the reservations for Monday, December 9th, will be open starting December 7th). Initially, the reservation system will be open to individual tourists. Group reservations will become available six months after the reopening, around Pentecost 2025.

Here are some screenshots of the new reservation system taken the morning of December 3rd (all available time slots already reserved):

No Reservation? No Problem! (in theory)

Reservations aren’t strictly mandatory. For those without a smartphone – or who weren’t able to book a timeslot during your stay in Paris – you can still show up and “take a number” for a time slot within the same day, but that line may be considerably longer. I’ve found that any free visits that require a timeslot reservation tend to have a lot of people simply not show up (because they’re not losing any money), so there will likely be a lot of open spots each day. I’ll test this out once the cathedral reopens and report back.

Beware of Fake Ticket Sites!

There have already been reports of website selling fake tickets. Don’t fall for it! The new ticketing app isn’t online yet, but when it is, you’ll find it on the official Notre Dame Cathedral website. Once it’s open, they will only allow reservations a few days in advance, and they will ALWAYS be free. Finally, no group tours are permitted the first six months, so there’s no way a tour operator can get you tickets. When in doubt, forward me any links you see to “skip-the-line” entrance to Notre Dame, and I’ll check it out.

Reversed Visitor Route

The new app is also meant to “enhance the visitor experience” with detailed educational information about the cathedral’s history, décor, accessibility, and calendar of religious events, although they also promise to have printed brochures at the entrance so we’re not all staring at our phones in church!

One of the biggest changes for those of you who already know the cathedral well, will be the change in direction. Normally the visits are in a counter-clockwise route, entering the southern Porte de Sainte Anne and exiting (after the gift shop) from the northern Porte de la Vierge (at least this has been the case since I first moved here in 1995, but perhaps it was different in the centuries before). But now the visit will go clockwise, so the entrance will be through the central portal of the Last Judgment, and exit through the Sainte-Anne portal dedicated to the childhood of Christ. This will allow visitors to see the scenes depicting Jesus’s life on the 14th-century wooden choir enclosure in chronological order, with scenes from his birth on the north side and scenes from his resurrection on the south side.

All the chapels of the south and north aisles have been renamed. Those of the north are now linked to characters from the Old Testament, who preceded Christ, while those of the south are now dedicated to saints from the History of Paris. The historic paintings known as The Mays will be hung in the aisles in two coherent cycles, one dedicated to Saint Peter, the other to Saint Paul.

There will be a welcome desk with brochures, audio guides and receptionists to answer questions at the first pillar in the north entrance (“A” in the map above). There will be 60 staff and 500 volunteers recruited to welcome visitors in December. The gift shop has been moved to the opposite end of the cathedral between the first two pillars next to the southern visitors’ exit (“B” on the map).

The Bell Towers Won’t Be Open Until 2025

The Bell Towers will not be open to the public when the cathedral reopens in December, but are planned to reopen “in summer 2025” (the entrance and tickets for that are managed directly by Centre des Monuments Nationaux).

A Week of Religious Ceremonies and Procession

On the eve of its long-awaited reopening on December 8th, the calendar of celebrations was planned to mark this important milestone in the cathedral’s history. There have been conflicting reports about which of the dates will be open to the general public through the reservation system, and which are only for clergy, major donors, and those who helped save and restore the cathedral (from firefighters to stone masons). But it’s not supposed to be exclusionary. In his letter, Archbishop Ulrich expressed his hope that these celebrations would be truly popular, encouraging Parisians and all residents of the provinces to make a pilgrimage to Notre-Dame over the next six months, from December to June: “We want the people of Paris to be present, from children to the elderly, and for no one to be excluded,” said the archbishop in an article in Zenit, who also called on Christian associations to make sure that people in precarious or isolated situations also have their place in the festivities.

Security Perimeters and Public Transport Closures for Reopening Events

The reopening of Notre-Dame de Paris on December 7 and 8 will involve exceptional security measures, leading to several restrictions affecting Parisians, especially those in the Île de la Cité and the Left Bank quays, with the establishment of a Security Perimeter (SILT Anti-Terrorism Perimeter) similar to the Olympics security measures:

Viewing Platforms for the General Public on December 7th-8th

Only residents, their guests, and those with invitations to Notre Dame events will be allowed within the SILT perimeters on December 7th and 8th (including the square in front of Notre Dame), but there will be viewing platforms (aka “boxes”) set up along the upper quays of the Left Bank to accommodate a maximum of 40,000 (first come, first to get in) pedestrians to watch the live streaming of the reopening mass and celebrations on big screens (just like during the Olympics…hopefully without the rain). You can enter the platforms in these locations:

Access to these platforms on the upper quays of the Left Bank will open from 3pm on Saturday and from 8am on Sunday. There will be bag searches and pat-downs at all access points, so leave glass bottles and anything that could be used as a weapon at home.

How to Watch Reopening Events on TV or Online

France Télévisions (France 2) is the official broadcaster of all of the reopening masses and concerts. It’s usually only accessible if you’re in France, but likely to be licensed to international channels (I haven’t seen this announced as of December 5th). You can also use a VPN that lets you set your location to France to create a free France Télévisions account to watch online.

Télévision Catholique (KTO) will also be streaming many of the masses live on their Youtube channel:

Radio France will be broadcasting the concerts on the radio.

Concerts by the Notre-Dame de Paris Choir

The Notre-Dame de Paris Choir (aka La Maîtrise Notre-Dame de Paris) historically leads the daily services at Notre-Dame, nearly 1,000 per year. Since the fire, you can hear the choir at Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois church: daily Vespers services at 5:45pm, weekday mass at 6:15pm, Saturday mass at 6:30pm, and Sunday Lauds at 9:30am, Gregorian Mass at 10am, and Mass presided over by the Archbishop at 6:30pm. They will be performing during regular services at Notre Dame once reopened, but you can also see them during their special concerts outside of services. December 17th and 18th are waitlist only, but you can still get tickets for January 14th (Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem): https://musique-sacree-notredamedeparis.fr/boutique/concert/24-25/requiem-faure/

Notable Absence of Pope Francis

Despite an invitation from French President Emmanuel Macron to preside over the reopening mass (and a “scoop” by the Catholic Herald newspaper confirming it on September 11th), Pope Francis has declined to attend the event, firmly stating “I will not go to Paris!” in a press conference two days later, without elaborating. There are at least three good reasons he declined, but as they’re all speculative, I’ll leave it at that.

Pre-Opening Exhibitions and Events

In anticipation of the reopening, several cultural institutions are hosting special events under the label “Notre-Dame de Paris: Ever Closer to Reopening“:

Free tours start at the foot of the Virgin and Child statue

Photos from September’s Heritage Days at Notre Dame

Notre Dame’s many artisans, known as Les Compagnons du Devoir et du Tour de France, set up their workshops and demonstrations on the Parvis de Notre Dame for the Journées du Patroimine on September 21and 22 to share their skills and know-how with the public. It was just a little preview of the work that went into the cathedral’s restoration. Click images to see full sized:

Ongoing Restoration and Renovations

Although the cathedral will reopen in December, visits to the bell towers and Treasury Room won’t be possible until further notice, and some of the restoration work will continue into the coming years, including:

Follow the Official Notre Dame Cathedral News & Social Media Accounts

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