Zürcher Nachrichten - Macron to speak inside Notre Dame for cathedral reopening: archbishop

EUR -
AED 3.988177
AFN 72.761161
ALL 98.153178
AMD 420.879718
ANG 1.955774
AOA 990.255072
ARS 1074.736877
AUD 1.658605
AWG 1.957165
AZN 1.839136
BAM 1.952834
BBD 2.191052
BDT 129.674236
BGN 1.957504
BHD 0.409291
BIF 3152.783926
BMD 1.085806
BND 1.434454
BOB 7.498783
BRL 6.27357
BSD 1.085142
BTN 91.163633
BWP 14.508298
BYN 3.551306
BYR 21281.793751
BZD 2.187428
CAD 1.510389
CDF 3157.522905
CHF 0.939336
CLF 0.037847
CLP 1044.317341
CNY 7.728009
CNH 7.730172
COP 4790.260322
CRC 556.068209
CUC 1.085806
CUP 28.773854
CVE 110.096764
CZK 25.302202
DJF 193.236499
DKK 7.458107
DOP 65.350741
DZD 144.876883
EGP 53.129889
ERN 16.287087
ETB 133.293813
FJD 2.443938
FKP 0.830825
GBP 0.84397
GEL 2.98054
GGP 0.830825
GHS 17.612654
GIP 0.830825
GMD 75.461683
GNF 9358.785235
GTQ 8.384343
GYD 226.930547
HKD 8.440642
HNL 27.354452
HRK 7.480149
HTG 142.796399
HUF 408.215235
IDR 17093.515025
ILS 4.043325
IMP 0.830825
INR 91.316865
IQD 1421.540866
IRR 45704.276155
ISK 148.983544
JEP 0.830825
JMD 171.679242
JOD 0.770055
JPY 165.79386
KES 139.98187
KGS 93.161723
KHR 4409.404218
KMF 492.524801
KPW 977.224978
KRW 1496.935539
KWD 0.33293
KYD 0.904347
KZT 529.837446
LAK 23806.389349
LBP 97178.735747
LKR 317.897156
LRD 208.358328
LSL 19.157902
LTL 3.206103
LVL 0.656793
LYD 5.230008
MAD 10.677284
MDL 19.424943
MGA 5000.520001
MKD 61.572799
MMK 3526.654895
MNT 3689.568151
MOP 8.687904
MRU 42.907829
MUR 50.066612
MVR 16.667461
MWK 1881.685292
MXN 21.795407
MYR 4.754523
MZN 69.383799
NAD 19.157902
NGN 1783.750735
NIO 39.929353
NOK 11.982795
NPR 145.861813
NZD 1.827818
OMR 0.418014
PAB 1.085277
PEN 4.086431
PGK 4.347357
PHP 63.370344
PKR 301.537227
PLN 4.352319
PYG 8578.969672
QAR 3.956491
RON 4.977661
RSD 117.094363
RUB 105.594637
RWF 1477.589756
SAR 4.078033
SBD 9.029921
SCR 15.124693
SDG 653.115129
SEK 11.627591
SGD 1.43728
SHP 0.830825
SLE 24.593595
SLL 22768.801326
SOS 620.172319
SRD 37.315882
STD 22473.987902
SVC 9.495577
SYP 2728.119947
SZL 19.167329
THB 36.786026
TJS 11.557312
TMT 3.811178
TND 3.354006
TOP 2.543066
TRY 37.192145
TTD 7.363985
TWD 34.702895
TZS 2942.533559
UAH 44.724657
UGX 3972.929053
USD 1.085806
UYU 44.712705
UZS 13869.126216
VEF 3933388.565851
VES 46.154228
VND 27449.170716
VUV 128.909079
WST 3.041542
XAF 654.977256
XAG 0.032189
XAU 0.000399
XCD 2.934444
XDR 0.81568
XOF 654.962198
XPF 119.331742
YER 271.804315
ZAR 19.197166
ZMK 9773.558506
ZMW 29.055537
ZWL 349.629026
  • CMSC

    -0.0600

    24.53

    -0.24%

  • BCC

    0.5900

    134.96

    +0.44%

  • BCE

    0.0200

    32.26

    +0.06%

  • BTI

    0.4000

    34.76

    +1.15%

  • SCS

    0.0350

    12.265

    +0.29%

  • NGG

    -1.2100

    63.86

    -1.89%

  • AZN

    -1.0650

    71.765

    -1.48%

  • CMSD

    -0.0500

    24.78

    -0.2%

  • RBGPF

    -0.0800

    60.92

    -0.13%

  • RIO

    -0.9500

    64.95

    -1.46%

  • GSK

    -0.4200

    36.59

    -1.15%

  • JRI

    0.0650

    13.115

    +0.5%

  • RYCEF

    -0.3900

    6.86

    -5.69%

  • BP

    0.0850

    29.105

    +0.29%

  • VOD

    -0.1200

    9.27

    -1.29%

  • RELX

    -0.6550

    46.255

    -1.42%

Macron to speak inside Notre Dame for cathedral reopening: archbishop
Macron to speak inside Notre Dame for cathedral reopening: archbishop / Photo: Grégoire CAMPIONE - AFP

Macron to speak inside Notre Dame for cathedral reopening: archbishop

French President Emmanuel Macron will in December give an address inside Notre Dame to mark the reopening of the mighty cathedral devastated by fire in 2019, in an unusual move for a leader of the secular state, the archbishop of Paris said.

Text size:

Archbishop Laurent Ulrich told AFP in an interview that Macron's speech for the reopening on Saturday, December 7 will be one of the centrepieces of a weekend of events that will include the first mass since the fire, the following day.

The fire on April 15, 2019 shocked France and the world, causing significant damage to the mediaeval cathedral that is inscribed by UNESCO as world heritage.

During the ceremony "the president will say: 'We have kept the promise'" of a reopening in five years that he made in an address to the nation after the fire, Ulrich said in an interview.

Macron will speak "in the cathedral" and not outside, he emphasised.

It is extremely unusual for a political leader to be allowed to address the faithful inside a Catholic religious building. France is by its constitution a secular country with a strict division between church and state.

- 'Reopening period' -

Ulrich said the ceremony could see a ribbon-cutting to mark the opening.

"But what is certain is that I will knock on the door of the cathedral" to signify "that once again the clergy and the people are in the cathedral for the service of God," he said.

The ceremony will also see a performance on the famous organ of the cathedral that was "completely dismantled, cleaned and put back into working order" after being damaged by dust during the fire.

The next day, Sunday, December 8, will see "the first mass during which I will consecrate the new altar," added Ulrich.

Due to the limited capacity of 1,500 places in the cathedral, the reopening will be extended, with mass celebrated repeatedly over the subsequent eight days.

The "reopening period" of Notre Dame will last six months until Pentecost which falls on June 8 in 2025, said Ulrich.

Macron in December said he had invited Pope Francis to the reopening of the cathedral but the head of the Catholic church announced in September, to the surprise of some observers, that he would not be coming.

The French Catholic church has in recent years been rocked by a succession of sexual abuse allegations against clerics, including most recently the monk known as Abbe Pierre who became a household name for his aid to the destitute.

Ulrich's predecessor Michel Aupetit, who regularly appeared on television in the wake of the disaster and helped to rally funds for the restoration work, in 2021 resigned over an "ambiguous" relationship with a woman.

Prosecutors opened a probe but the investigation was closed after it found no offence was committed.

O.Hofer--NZN