WelCom August 2024
Less than six months before the re-opening of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, how is the Archdiocese of Paris preparing to welcome the anticipated 15 million annual visitors to the cathedral?
‘With joy, impatience, and gratitude for the tremendous work accomplished,’ says Monsignor Olivier Ribadeau Dumas, the cathedral’s rector.
Most elements of the interior redesign are nearing completion. The baptistery, main altar, ambo, cathedra, and tabernacle, commissioned from designer Guillaume Bardet and cast in bronze, will be reinstalled in November. Bardet has also designed a full set of liturgical vessels in silver and gold, following the same minimalist style.
Out of the 1,500 chairs designed by Ionna Vautrin for the assembly, a thousand chairs using solid oak from Sologne have already been manufactured. They will be supplemented with kneelers, prie-dieux for the front rows, and benches.
The chapel at the eastern end, behind the choir’s Pietà, will house a new reliquary for the Crown of Thorns, designed by Sylvain Dubuisson. Seven tapestries for the eastern wall of the north side chapels still need to be commissioned.
Given the expected high traffic – 40,000 visitors a day – a reservation system will be implemented, ensuring entry within 30 minutes. Tickets will also be available on-site to allow spontaneous visits. A downloadable app will offer tours for tourists, pilgrims, and children.
Individual visits will start on 16 December 2024, following the grand re-opening celebration on 8 December and an octave of Masses celebrated by the Archbishop of Paris.
Source: La Croix International