Notes boomed from the meticulously cleaned grand organ, the choir’s voices echoed off of walls scrubbed clean of scorch marks, and light shone through restored stained glass windows.
Hundreds flocked to Notre Dame’s first Sunday Mass since a fire ravaged the beloved landmark five years ago to mark the cathedral’s rebirth and witness the consecration of its altar.
Archbishop of Paris Laurent Ulrich presided over the Mass, which was attended by French President Emmanuel Macron, who helped oversee the official reopening of the cathedral on Saturday in an evening of celebration and ceremony, and first lady Brigitte Macron.
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Nearly 170 bishops from France and around the world had been set to participate in Sunday’s Mass, along with one priest from each of the 106 parishes in the Diocese of Paris and one from each of the seven Eastern Catholic Churches. They were accompanied by faithful from within their communities.
The robes worn during the morning mass were crafted by French fashion designer Jean-Charles Castelbajac and bore his signature style, boasting bold primary colors to convey the joy of the the day’s service.
“I wanted something very pure,” Castelbajac said in the lead-up to the weekend’s celebrations.
He added that the rector-archpriest of Notre Dame, Monsignor Olivier Ribadeau Dumas, had asked that the robes reflect “nobility and simplicity.”
“I did everything with my scissors. I didn’t draw. I cut,” he said, “to make it very pure.”
The inaugural Mass came after thousands of people lined the streets surrounding Notre Dame on Saturday night to watch as the Gothic masterpiece opened its doors to the public for the first time. The event included royalty, heads of state and dignitaries from around the world, including first lady Jill Biden, President-elect Donald Trump and Britain’s Prince William.
Sunday’s Mass marked the consecration of the cathedral’s new altar, which was carried out in five steps. The relics of five saints were placed and sealed within the altar.
The relics belonged to three women and two men who “marked the history of the Church in Paris,” according to the cathedral’s website, including St. Marie Eugénie Milleret, St. Madeleine Sophie Barat, St. Catherine Labouré, St. Charles de Foucauld and Blessed Vladimir Ghika.
A prayer of dedication was followed by the anointing with oil, marking the key moment of the consecration. The offering of incense followed shortly after, before the altar was finally adorned and illuminated, as the scent of the incense filled the cathedral.
The weekend’s reopening ceremonies marked the start of a week of celebrations for Notre Dame’s reawakening, with many of the hundreds of people involved in the cathedral’s restoration expected to attend services held throughout the week.
Ariel Weil, the mayor of Paris Center, said he felt the weekend’s celebrations had been a major success. And in the wake of a powerful service, he said it was important to remember that while Notre Dame is a “religious place,” it is also “for the secular.”
“I think everyone agrees between the nonreligious powers and the religious powers that the cathedral is sort of indistinctively open to everyone,” he said. “And that’s its nature.”
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