In a post on social media platforms December 3, Trump gave the unexpected announcement of his presence at Notre Dame’s re-opening this coming weekend.
It is an honor to announce that I will be traveling to Paris, France, on Saturday to attend the re-opening of the Magnificent and Historic Notre Dame Cathedral, which has been fully restored after a devastating fire five years ago. President Emmanuel Macron has done a wonderful job ensuring that Notre Dame has been restored to its full level of glory, and even more so. It will be a very special day for all!
The reopening ceremonies will take place December 7 and 8, with the 8th being the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Presided over by the Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, they will be extended into an octave from December 8 to allows greater access for pilgrims to visit the cathedral in its newly reconstructed form.
Saturday’s ceremony will see Ulrich bang on the cathedral doors with his crosier – liturgically similar to the 1955 Missal’s Palm Sunday – to which in response the first sung prayer will be heard since before the reconstruction work began.
The cathedral’s organ – not destroyed by the fire but damaged by the immense amount of water used to extinguish the fire – will then burst into life accompanying the chants.
Ulrich will also preside over an inaugural Mass on Sunday, attended by numerous assembled dignitaries and politicians – a number to which Trump will now be added. Numerous members of the French episcopate will attend, as will visiting bishops from other corners of the globe.
A priest representing every one of the Diocese of Paris’ parishes will be in attendance, as will representatives of the Eastern Catholic Churches.
The restoration has been estimated to cost around €700 million, with a surplus of around €140 million left over from the amount donated and pledged.
After early suggestions that the iconic cathedral would be redesigned in a modernist style, the finished work is much more faithful to the original than was feared by many.
The cathedral has not been unaffected by modern influences, however. Most notably the reliquary for the Crown of Thorns, the baptism font, and the modern altar (the original high altar remains in place).
Pope Francis had been invited by French President Emmanuel Macron – who himself will attend the ceremonies – but Francis made the striking decision to decline the invitation. The Pope instead will travel to the French island of Corsica the following Sunday (December 15) for a one-day trip to close a meeting on popular religiosity in the Mediterranean.
Francis’ non-attendance in Paris and his subsequent decision to instead visit Corsica has confused many, with many in mainland France especially being disappointed.
After declining to attend the cathedral’s re-opening, Francis announce he would create 21 new cardinals for the Catholic Church at a Rome consistory held on December 7 and 8.