Today, we are just 62 days away from the reopening of the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral. On December 8, 2024, after five years and seven and a half months, the center door of the facade of Notre Dame will swing open.
The cathedral saw a renaissance and returned to the Notre Dame of 1860. While the current head architect, Philippe Villeneuve, has taken on the massive task of managing the project, the architect of the 19th century is speaking the loudest.
In 1844, Eugène Viollet le Duc and Jean Baptiste Lassus began restoring Notre Dame after many years of neglect. At one point, Paris tried to sell the cathedral stone by stone, although there were no takers. Under Napoleon III and with the help of Victor Hugo’s book Notre Dame de Paris, the public and faithful called for a restoration of the cathedral.
For twenty years, Viollet le Duc added gargoyles, replaced the spire and lead roof, and repainted the interior, among other things. Today, the entire team follows Viollet le Duc as their guiding light. When the cathedral reopens, we will step back in time one hundred sixty years and to the church that Viollet restored. The role of any restorer, whether a painting, sculptor, or Notre Dame, is to bring back the work’s original intent. They are merely just a chapter in the story of the monument.
The work site changes daily, and it’s so exciting to visit and find more of the building visible and scaffolding being removed. On April 15, 2019, after the fire engulfed the roof, it headed to the belfry of the north tower. There were just under thirty minutes to save the entire building. If the fire tore through the wooden belfry, the eight bells weighing more than fourteen tons would fall through the tower and take the entire facade with it.
Luckily, the amazing firemen and women of Paris jumped into action and stopped the fire just in time. Two of the eight bells were damaged but were easily restored. On September 12, the eight bells of the north tower returned and, just this last week, were hung once again in the partially rebuilt belfry after being blessed by Bishop Olivier Dumas.
Check out the episode we did last year, which was all about the Bells of Notre Dame.
Did you know there are 21 bells inside Notre Dame? In the North tower, there are eight; in the South, there are two, Emmanuel and Marie. Seven will return to the lower parts of the spire, and 4 in the transept attached to the four clocks on the roof of the transept and ring from 8 am to 9 pm.
When we once again enter the cathedral, there will be a few changes. The entrance has changed from the south entrance of Sainte Anne to the central door of the Last Judgment. The visitor path begins on the north side and will focus on contemplating the biblical history of salvation.
Every inch of the interior has been cleaned and restored. The twenty-four chapels have been touched up, and every detail created by Viollet le Duc has returned to its technicolor splendor. While the chapel walls will remain the same, each chapel’s framed paintings and names have changed. More on that another day.
The restoration and renaissance of Notre Dame have involved more than just the roof and walls. When the Portail du Jugement Dernier opens, the cathedral will be state-of-the-art in fire suppression, sprinklers, ventilation, and security. A new control center was created under the transept, and more than 125 miles of fireproof cables were installed that could withstand up to 1000 degrees of heat. Special air sensors will take in air and constantly test it for even the smallest abnormalities.
Shortly after the fire, it was voted that the cathedral would return exactly how it was before the fire. Another decision was made that whatever was inside on April 14, 2019, must also return. This only referred to the art, as the furniture has all been updated. New liturgical furniture designed by Guillaume Bardet and made in bronze will grace the altar and holy water fonts. Sleek chairs will fill the nave by Ionna Vautrin with a low profile and can be used to rest the faithful’s elbows when they kneel to pray. One more piece that will be significant is Sylvain Dubuisson’s new reliquary for the Crown of Thorns.
Listen to this week’s new episode of the podcast to hear ever more on the restoration of Notre Dame with just two months to go. And if you missed the last YouTube video walk around the Cathedral, check it out here.