Dec. 2 (UPI) — President-elect Donald Trump announced Monday that he will travel to Paris on Saturday to attend the reopening of the Notre Dame Cathedral, marking his first overseas trip since winning re-election last month.
Trump made the announcement on his Truth Social platform.
“It is an honor to announce that I will be traveling to Paris, France, on Saturday to attend the re-opening of the Magnificent and Historic Notre Dame Cathedral, which has been fully restored after a devastating fire five years ago,” he said in the statement.
The iconic cathedral has been closed since being ravaged by a fire on April 15, 2019.
Trump was president during the incident. In a speech on the day of the fire, he described the building as “one of the great treasures of the world.”
“It might be greater than almost any museum in the world. And it’s burning very badly,” he said at the time. “It looks like it’s burning to the ground.”
That same day, Trump came under criticism for taking to social media platform Twitter, now called X, to suggest “perhaps flying water tankers could be used” to put out the fire.
France’s Sécurité Civile responded by saying hundreds of firemen were “doing everything they can” to bring the fire at the cathedral under control.
“All means are being used, except for water-bombing aircrafts which, if used, could lead to the collapse of the entire structure of the cathedral,” the emergency services agency said online.
The reopening ceremony for the cathedral, which dates back to the 12th century, is scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.
On Saturday, a reopening service will be presided over by the Archbishop of Paris. On Sunday, the cathedral will host its inaugural mass, attended by nearly 170 bishops from France and around the world.
In his announcement Monday, Trump praised President Emmanuel Macron for having done “a wonderful job ensuring that Notre Dame has been restored to its full level of glory, and even more so.”
“It will be a very special day for all!” Trump said.
The announcement comes after Trump on Saturday nominated his daughter’s father-in-law, Charles Kushner, to be the U.S. ambassador to France.