1 of 5 | Clergy members walk down the central aisle of the Notre Dame Cathedral at the end of a ceremony marking its reopening, in Paris on Saturday. The cathedral reopened after nearly six years of renovation work following its partial destruction by a fire on April 15, 2019. Pool Photo by Ludovic Marin/EPA-EFE
Dec. 7 (UPI) — Five years after it was nearly destroyed by fire, French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday hosted a glittering ceremony attended by world leaders to celebrate the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
Macron and his wife, Brigit Macron, welcomed heads of state, government and international organizations as well as their spouses at the ceremony, including U.S. first lady Jill Biden, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, American tech billionaire Elon Musk, Britain’s Prince William, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and many others.
Shortly before 8 p.m. local time, Macron began the ceremony with a speech thanking “our firefighters and all the forces who saved Notre Dame,” while also honoring the artisans and others who worked on its restoration, worldwide donors and “all those who made it possible to keep the promise.
“We rediscovered what great nations could achieve — the impossible,” he declared, as the firefighters present in the crowd received a standing ovation.
À nos sapeurs-pompiers et à l’ensemble des forces qui ont sauvé Notre-Dame.
À tous les artisans et aux compagnons qui l’ont rendue plus belle encore.
Aux mécènes et aux généreux donateurs du monde entier.
An estimated $891 million was raised through donations from 340,000 donors in 150 countries to complete the project. Last month, eight bells inside the iconic church rang out for the first time since a fire destroyed its roof and spire on April 15, 2019.
Macron’s remarks were followed by a religious service, which was led by a procession of 113 banners representing each parish in Paris. Following that, Notre Dame’s famous Grand Organ, the is largest organ in France, was played for the first time since the fire.
The organists were accompanied by the Choir of the Maîtrise de Notre-Dame, who performed the hymn Holy Virgin, God Chose You.
The Archbishop of Paris Laurent Ulrich welcomed visitors to the cathedral, “whether they be Christian or not,” and read from the Book of Ephesians, Chapter 2.
Following the religious ceremony, attendees were treated to concert of mostly classical music highlighted by Canadian singer Garou, who played Quasimodo in the hit 1990s musical Notre-Dame de Paris. He performed the well-known title song from the show.
Among the other performers were Chinese pianist Lang Lang, Franco-Swiss tenor Benjamin Bernheim, and singers Clara Luciani, Vianney, Angélique Kidjo and Hiba Tawaji.
