{"id":313937,"date":"2025-11-23T16:47:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-23T16:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/uncategorized\/notre-dame-cathedral-an-amazing-visit-in-the-inaugural-week\/"},"modified":"2025-11-23T16:47:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-23T16:47:10","slug":"notre-dame-cathedral-an-amazing-visit-in-the-inaugural-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=313937","title":{"rendered":"Notre Dame Cathedral: An Amazing Visit in the Inaugural Week"},"content":{"rendered":"


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I kept checking \u201cBook Your Visit\u201d on the Notre-Dame de Paris application. The waits varied from 25 minutes to over an hour, assured that I was in some sort of virtual lineup, I waited. Didn\u2019t close the browser. The time slots were invariably full or unavailable each time I made it past the first step.<\/p>\n

I live in Paris. I\u2019ve lingered around Notre Dame Cathedral a lot in the last five years. I\u2019ve reminisced about my last visit in the summer of 2018 before the fire. I\u2019ve followed the resurrection of the cathedral in awe. <\/p>\n

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It\u2019s not lost on me that construction began on Notre Dame Cathedral in 1163 and it opened to the public in 1345. I mean, it\u2019s almost one thousand years old. It was in a rough state after the French Revolution and Victor Hugo\u2019s The Hunchback of Notre Dame<\/em> played a large role in reminding Parisians of the treasure at their fingertips. I know that architect Viollet-le-Duc headed up a large renovation project in 1864 adding the spectacular spire that fell in flames just 5 years ago. <\/p>\n

No wonder Notre Dame is the heartbeat of Paris. <\/p>\n

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I know I am going to get to visit Notre Dame Cathedral one of these days. A last shot at getting a spot on Monday night at 11:30 PM resulted in a 9 AM invitation to Mass on Thursday, December 12, 2024. I jumped at it, thrilled. Whatever other plans I had for Thursday morning were immediately cancelled. I had a date with Notre-Dame de Paris!<\/p>\n

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Notre Dame Cathedral Opening Hours:<\/strong> Starting Monday December 16, 2024 Notre Dame will resume it s daily schedule from 7:45 AM to 7:00 PM<\/strong><\/p>\n

Entry to Notre Dame de Paris<\/strong>: Free of charge; You must have a ticket with a QR code and timeslot. Book your entry on the \u201capp\u201d Notre Dame de Paris or visit the official website of Notre-Dame Cathedral<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Organ Concerts<\/strong>: Starting on Sunday, December 15, 2024 at 5 PM there will be a weekly organ concert played by one of the Cathedral\u2019s four organists. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Visiting Notre-Dame Cathedral December 2024<\/h2>\n

I\u2019m not Catholic but I do visit every Church or Cathedral I pass by in France. I\u2019ve been to many a mass since I moved here almost five years ago. I can\u2019t believe I have an invitation (and QR code) to celebrate a solemn Mass celebrating the Octave of the reopening of the doors of Notre-Dame de Paris.<\/p>\n

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I arrive 15 minutes before my entry time to a very long lineup. Fifty minutes later, frozen to the core, I show my QR code and follow the queue past the stunning portals. There is no opportunity to linger on the forecourt.<\/p>\n

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I enter through the majestic Last Judgement Portal where the Archbishop of Paris had struck the door three times with this staff just five nights previously. Upon hearing the Cathedral respond in song (the choir) in a majestic gesture, he swung the monumental wooden doors open. The sacred space of Notre Dame was free to enter once again.<\/p>\n

I step past the ancient wooden doors into a glistening Notre-Dame de Paris. It\u2019s brilliant. Full of light. My eyes dart up to the heavens and towards the altar.<\/p>\n

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I\u2019m seeing Notre Dame Cathedral like it was centuries ago. Every inch of the cathedral has been refurbished. Resurrected. Scrubbed until it shines. It\u2019s so impressive. <\/p>\n

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The colours of the stained glass windows are spellbinding. The famous rose windows are breathtaking in their splendour. <\/p>\n

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The chapels have been repainted in their 19th-century glory! The colours are reminiscent of Paris\u2019s oldest church in Saint-Germain des Pr\u00e9s<\/a><\/span><\/strong> and the colourful interior of a lesser-known church in the 9th arrondissement<\/a><\/span><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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I\u2019m drawn towards the altar. I try to take it all: the golden cross, the Pieta, candles a lit, priests preparing for the Mass. <\/p>\n

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The Madonna and Child are back home, miraculously surviving the fire unscathed. <\/p>\n

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On either side of the altar, the magnificent carvings of Bible stories are freshly painted. <\/p>\n

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With the restoration of the Cathedral, a golden reliquary now stands to display the Crown of Thorns, which was also spared during the fire. It was in 1239 that Saint Louis deposited Christ\u2019s Crown of Thorns at Notre Dame Cathedral while awaiting the completion of Sainte-Chapelle which he built to hold the relics he acquired on his Holy Crusades. <\/p>\n

The return of the Crown of Thorns will take place on Friday, December 13, 2024, when it will hang in the circular centre of the golden reliquary. There is a place reserved for praying just in front of the reliquary shrine. <\/p>\n

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I linger before two new displays. Gratitude overflows for the firefighters and the men and women who saved and raised Notre Dame, including the donors. <\/p>\n

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Notre Dame Cathedral: The Mass<\/h2>\n
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Over 30 priests and the Archbishop of Paris, Mgr Laurent Ulrich, assemble in the aisle. The organ in all its refurbished glory fills Notre-Dame de Paris with Ave Maria<\/em> and the angelic voices of the choir join in. Leading the procession are three altar boys carrying candles. The silver ball full of incense swings back and forth emanating a smoky, ethereal haze encouraging our souls to reach for the heavens. <\/p>\n

Not a peep is heard during Mass. No wandering about. No loud voices. It is truly an honour to be there. I hold my Notre-Dame de Paris Inaugural Week December 7 \u2013 15 2024<\/em> service book in my hand. Leafing through the onion skin pages to find Thursday morning\u2019s Mass dedicated to the Virgin Mary of Guadeloupe, I follow along the best I can. I\u2019m a silent observer taking in the grandeur, the ceremony, the overwhelming feeling of hope. <\/p>\n

The neighbourly greeting after communion is moving. People all around me shake hands, smile, nod. Parisians joyfully greet each other in the aisles with the customary bises, a kiss on each cheek. <\/p>\n

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After the mass, the archbishop and priests greet people and chat on the forecourt. Now is the time to take in the glorious fa\u00e7ade. I look to the Portal of the Virgin (to the left of the central portal) and there is Saint-Denis, holding his head in his hands. One of the three patron saints of Paris, you can read about the legend of Saint-Denis<\/a><\/span><\/strong>. I always keep an eye out for him in Paris! <\/p>\n

Emmanuel, the largest, heaviest and oldest bell (1686) at Notre Dame Cathedral starts its low tone ring to signify noon. I stand and listen to all 12 gongs. Am I really standing before Notre-Dame Cathedral in its inaugural week? I clutch my prayer book and realize what a memento I have in my hand and with one final gaze over the western fa\u00e7ade, I take my leave. <\/p>\n

A Few Restoration Facts<\/h2>\n
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There are countless stories from the 5-year restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral. Here are just a few special ones: <\/p>\n