Pope Francis Invited to the Reopening of the Rehabilitated Notre-Dame in 2024

Restoration works are currently underway on the French Cathedral, Notre-Dame. The cathedral which suffered blazing fires on April 15, 2019, is on its way to recovery. The blaze destroyed the roof and spire that displayed the magnificence of the cathedral.

The Notre-Dame Cathedral is set to be reinaugurated and opened for services and activities on December 8, 2024. During a visit to the construction site a year (December 8, 2023) ahead of the grand reopening date, French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his satisfaction with the works made so far.

“Since April 2019, the entire nation has been rebuilding,” Macron told reporters. “And it’s very moving to be here a year before. You can see the extraordinary progress of the work on this nave, the choir and the frames and the spire.”

He further stated that an invitation will be extended to the esteemed Pope Francis to experience and join the celebration of the restoration of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in 2024 when questioned about the possibility of the Pope’s attendance. He confirmed this when he was speaking to France 2 Television on Friday.

“I hope so, in any case, we’ll invite him. The invitation will be extended. But it’s not for me to answer on his behalf,” he added.

President Macron also used the opportunity to announce a competition for artists to design six new stained-glass windows for the cathedral, as well as a new Notre-Dame museum, “which will be inaugurated in the nearby spaces of the Hotel-Dieu.”

Notre-Dame de Paris which means “Our Lady of Paris” is considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture. In 1805, it was awarded an honorary status as a minor basilica.