With three knocks of the Archbishop’s crook – three times over – one of Western civilisation’s defining spiritual and cultural landmarks was reborn last night.
Five and a half years on from the fire which shocked not just Paris but the world, the Cathedral of Notre-Dame is not merely restored. It is now more splendid than perhaps at any point since the Middle Ages.
Last night’s congregation of 1,600 was led by more than 50 world leaders – including the Prince of Wales, incoming US President Trump and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky.
None of the above was as warmly welcomed as the parade of firefighters, the first to charge inside on the night of April 15, 2019, after renovation works had sparked a small fire. In next to no time, flames had spread across the transept and beyond.
Yesterday evening, in their same red uniforms, they stood on the very spot where the spire had come crashing to earth. The ovation went on and on.
Even they, however, were just the supporting act for the great lady herself. Her half a million square feet of scrubbed limestone was positively shining beneath the television rigs and the chandeliers.
On an evening of foulest winter weather, the fabled City of Light was just that. At the stroke of 7pm, the official start of the ceremony, the Eiffel Tower lit up like a stratospheric Christmas tree.
No expense had been spared on a restoration that had cost £706million. For all last night’s sumptuous pageantry, there had been some hard-fought battles behind the scenes.
The Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris is not merely restored. It is now more splendid than perhaps at any point since the Middle Ages, writes ROBERT HARDMAN
Emmanuel Macron wanted to make the most of this brief moment of uncluttered joy, but was told to welcome world leaders in a marquee outside
The French government is rigorous in separating church and state. On this occasion, repaying the compliment, the Catholic church was adamant that this was their show and not the president’s.
Given his disastrous ratings in the polls and an imploding government, Emmanuel Macron wanted to make the most of this brief moment of uncluttered joy. However, he was told he would have to welcome the world leaders in a special marquee outside. Even the national anthem would have to be played there, too, and not in the House of God.
The motorcades queued up while each head of state received a hug and backslap plus a kiss from Brigitte Macron.
Diplomacy dictated that Donald Trump had to arrive before the First Lady of the US, Jill Biden. Intriguingly, both then had to wait for one more guest of honour – tech mogul Elon Musk. Such is 21st-century protocol.
Shortly after 7pm, Archbishop Laurent Ulrich thumped three times on the door with a crook crafted from the charred remains of 2019. The choir responded with Psalm 121 and the ritual was repeated twice more. Only then did the great doors open.
The original plan had been for President Macron to deliver a short speech in his marquee. With Storm Darragh battering the plastic, it was decided that he should at least be allowed to speak inside – but not at the lectern. A one-off podium was installed for his speech – in which he hailed ‘the hope, the will and the daring’ of the restoration plan.
The podium was then removed and the clergy took charge.
Outside, tens of thousands lined the banks of the Seine. They were the same crowds kneeling in shock, in prayer and in floods of tears on that night in 2019. They will never forget it. Nor will I, as the only journalist to make it inside the blazing building that night.
President Macron with US president-elect Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Clerics arriving at the ceremony to mark the reopening of Notre Dame de Paris on Saturday
Spotting a small VIP delegation making a dash across the cobble-stones, I inserted myself at the back (all eyes were on the fire) and I was swept inside alongside the then-prime minister, Edouard Philippe.
For a few minutes, the fire chiefs let us stand at the west end of the Nave, ankle-deep in water from the hoses poking through broken windows. I watched blazing rafters crashing down on to piles of steaming wreckage.
But there was also something bordering on the miraculous, that night. Through the gloom and the miasma from the hoses, I saw something glistening in the reflection of the firemen’s torches. It was the cross on the altar at the far end, still standing.
I still keep that photograph saved in my phone. All was not lost. You did not have to be religious to find this profoundly uplifting. I reported that the world should take comfort from this ‘stunning symbol of defiance’. As word then spread, the mood changed.
Even so, the most devout and optimistic worshipper could not have imagined that Notre-Dame would rise again, so soon and so spectacularly.
But she has.
Welcome back, Our Lady of Paris.
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