First mass at Notre Dame after reopening

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Paris’s iconic Notre Dame cathedral is back. It reopened on December 7 following the devastating fire of 2019.

Olivier Ribadeau Dumas, rector of Notre-Dame de Paris, held the first mass open to the public after the 12^th century cathedral was restored.

Some of the distinguished guests included French President Emmanuel Macron, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

Video: Images France TV

Newly restored Notre Dame cathedral held its first mass on Sunday, with Christians celebrating the return of the French capital’s most famous place of worship after a historic re-opening ceremony.

The beloved Paris monument nearly burned down in 2019, but has been fully renovated inside and fitted with a new roof and spire during a frenzied five-year refit.

The inaugural mass was led by Paris archbishop Laurent Ulrich with 150 bishops and more than 100 priests from the capital in attendance, as well as French President Emmanuel Macron.

The archbishop led prayers and consecrated a new altar which replaced the old one that was destroyed five years ago.

“Whether you are here in person in the cathedral or in front of a screen, including perhaps under the rain, I greet you with intense emotion,” Ulrich told the congregation, referring to the small rain-drenched crowds outside watching events on public screens.

In a nod to France’s ongoing political turmoil, he added that he “prayed also for our country that is looking to the future with worry.”

A second mass in the evening at 6:30 pm (1730 GMT) will be open to the public, with roughly 2,500 people who secured free tickets this week expected to attend.

The cathedral will open fully to visitors on December 16 via an online reservation system.

‘For Jesus’

During a re-opening service on Saturday attended by world leaders including US President-elect Donald Trump, Macron expressed the “gratitude of the French nation” for the restoration work since 2019.

“We have rediscovered what great nations can do — achieve the impossible,” he said.

Macron is under intense political pressure having called snap elections in June that led to a hung parliament, with the main parties now struggling to form a stable government.

One of the most moving moments on Saturday came when firefighters in their protective gear walked through the congregation to thunderous applause as the word “Merci” (“Thank you”) was beamed on the intricate facade and famous belltowers of the Gothic masterpiece.

The architectural wonder had been in danger of collapsing during the April 2019 blaze and was saved only by firefighters pumping vast quantities of water onto the flames from the nearby River Seine.

Groups of worshippers huddled under umbrellas on Sunday beyond a strict security perimeter set up outside Notre Dame.

“Beyond the reconstruction work, it’s beautiful because it shows that the church still has a role, discreet and small, but it still has a role to play in France,” 21-year-old engineering student Jacques told AFP.

Monique Kashale, a 75-year-old from the Democratic Republic of Congo, said she was “very cold but for Jesus Christ I can put up with it, for the Virgin Mary it is bearable.”

Trump in Paris

Saturday’s re-opening service began with the archbishop Ulrich, dressed in brightly coloured new vestments designed by fashion designer Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, knocking on the doors of the cathedral three times.

Trump was placed on the front row as guest of honour next to Macron, with invitees marvelling at the freshly cleaned walls, new furniture and state-of-the-art lighting installed as part of the overhaul

The reconstruction effort cost around 700 million euros ($750 million), financed from donations, with the five-year re-opening deadline met despite predictions it could take decades.

Part of the cathedral’s lead roofing base still needs to be finished and the statues of the apostles and saints, removed before the fire to allow for their restoration, will only be reinstalled in the first half of 2025.

The exact cause of the 2019 blaze has never been identified despite a forensic investigation by prosecutors, who believe an accident such as an electrical fault was the most likely reason.

Notre Dame welcomed around 12 million visitors a year before the fire, but expects to receive an even higher figure of “14 to 15 million” after the reopening, according to the church authorities.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Paris, France:

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and one of Donald Trump’s closest allies, made a surprise appearance Saturday at the ceremony marking the re-opening of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris.

The boss of Tesla, SpaceX and social media network X landed during the afternoon at Le Bourget airport north of Paris, which is frequently used by private jets, an airport source told AFP, asking not to be named.

Musk was then present inside the cathedral for the ceremony on Saturday evening to mark its re-opening after the 2019 fire. His attendance had not previously been announced.

He took a picture of the cathedral’s immense doors before entering and also had an exchange inside with Trump who was sitting in the front row.

“Magnificat Cathedrale,” he posted on X with a video of the cathedral’s vaulted roof. 

Musk has taken an influential and highly visible role at Trump’s side since the Republican won re-election in the United States on November 5.

He spent at least $270 million funding Trump’s campaign and he moved into the president-elect’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida after election day while the next White House team was assembled. 

The two men have watched an Ultimate Fighting Championship bout in New York, as well as the launch of one of Musk’s SpaceX rockets.

Trump has selected the South African-born tycoon and fellow ally Vivek Ramaswamy to head the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency”, a commission that will recommend ways of slashing billions of dollars in federal spending.

Given that Musk’s businesses are regulated by and receive contracts from the US government, his role has raised concerns about conflicts of interest.

Trump accepted French President Emmanuel Macron’s invitation to attend the re-opening of Notre Dame cathedral, more than five years after it was devastated by a fire.

He met Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris on Saturday, renewing a relationship that was often tense during Trump’s first term in office.

The president-elect has nominated several people close to Musk for roles in his new administration, including investor David Sacks as the so-called “AI and crypto czar”.

Billionaire astronaut Jared Isaacman, who has collaborated with Musk’s SpaceX, was named the head of US space agency NASA.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Paris:

The archbishop of Paris re-opened Notre Dame cathedral on Saturday by symbolically knocking on the doors and entering the 12th-century landmark which has been restored after a devastating fire in 2019.

Wearing new designer vestments and carrying a staff cut from one of the roof beams that survived the inferno, Laurent Ulrich joined hundreds of VIPs inside the Gothic masterpiece for a two-hour ceremony.

Ulrich commanded the cathedral to “open your doors” and he entered the magnificently-restored edifice.

US President-elect Donald Trump sat on the front row as guest of honour next to French President Emmanuel Macron, with invitees marvelling at the freshly cleaned walls, new furniture and state-of-the-art lightening installed as part of the cathedral’s overhaul.

Outside, small crowds of Parisians and tourists braved wet weather and high winds to witness the renaissance of a beloved monument which came close to being totally destroyed by the inferno that toppled its roof and spire.

“I find it really beautiful, even more so now that the spire has been restored,” Marie Jean, a 27-year-old dentist from southwest France, told AFP outside.

The reconstruction effort has cost around 700 million euros ($750 million), financed from donations, with the re-opening achieved within a five-year deadline set by Macron despite predictions it could take decades.

Workers had to overcome problems with lead pollution, the Covid-19 epidemic, and the army general overseeing the project falling to his death while hiking in the Pyrenees last year.

It is “a cathedral like we have never seen before,” Philippe Jost, who took over as project manager last year, told Franceinfo radio, adding that he was proud to “show the whole world” a “great collective success and a source of pride for all of France”.

Saturday’s service will feature prayer, organ music and hymns from the cathedral’s choir.

A public concert planned in front of the cathedral featuring Chinese piano virtuoso Lang Lang and possibly US singer and fashion designer Pharrell Williams had to be pre-recorded on Friday night because of the stormy weather.

– ‘Do the impossible’ –

Held up as an example of French creativity and resilience by Macron, Notre Dame’s renaissance so soon after the fire comes at a difficult time for the country.

The sense of national accomplishment in restoring a symbol of Paris has been undercut by political turmoil that has left France without a proper government since last week when prime minister Michel Barnier lost a confidence vote.

Macron is hoping the re-opening might provide a fleeting sense of national pride and unity — as the Paris Olympics did in July and August.

The scale of the immense security operation also recalls the Olympics — with some 6,000 police officers and gendarmes mobilised.

The re-opening “is the proof that we know how to do grand things, we know how to do the impossible” Macron said Thursday in a televised address to the country.

He is set to address the congregation during Saturday’s ceremony.

Trump show?

Macron has scored a major coup by attracting incoming US president Donald Trump for his first foreign trip since his re-election.

Another 40 heads of state and government are also present, including Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, who was given a round of applause as he entered Notre Dame, as well as British heir to the throne, Prince William.

Macron hosted three-way talks with Zelensky and Trump at the presidential palace shortly before the ceremony, with future US military support for Ukraine’s war effort against Russia’s invasion expected to have been discussed.

Trump has vowed to force an end to the nearly three-year Ukraine war when he takes office, sparking fears in Kyiv that he will force Ukraine to make territorial concessions to Russia which Zelensky is resisting.

“It seems like the world is going a little crazy right now and we will be talking about that,” Trump told reporters as he prepared to sit down for talks with Macron.

One surprising absentee on Saturday was Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church.

He sent a message addressed to the French people which is set to be read out.

The exact cause of the 2019 blaze has never been identified despite a forensic investigation by prosecutors, who believe an accident such as an electrical fault was the most likely reason.

On Sunday, the first mass with 170 bishops and more than 100 Paris priests will take place at 10:30 am (0930 GMT), followed by a second service in the evening at 6:30 pm which will be open to the public.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Scientists have created a novel method for detecting brain cancer that is faster and less invasive than typical surgical biopsies. The newly developed ‘liquid biopsy’ uses only 100 microlitres of blood and can detect biomarkers associated with glioblastoma-the most prevalent and lethal type of brain tumour-in just one hour.

The test, which is more accurate than any known approach for detecting glioblastoma, is described by its researchers as having “near turn-key functionality.” A team of researchers from the University of Notre Dame in the United States collaborated with Australian scientists to develop the new approach. While still in its early stages, this proof of concept marks a huge step forward in brain cancer diagnosis.

According to a release by University Of Notre Dam, the average glioblastoma patient survives 12-18 months after diagnosis. The crux of the diagnostic is a biochip that uses electrokinetic technology to detect biomarkers, or active Epidermal Growth Factor Receptors (EGFRs), which are overexpressed in certain cancers such as glioblastoma and found in extracellular vesicles.

“Extracellular vesicles or exosomes are unique nanoparticles secreted by cells. They are big – 10 to 50 times bigger than a molecule – and they have a weak charge. Our technology was specifically designed for these nanoparticles, using their features to our advantage,” said Hsueh-Chia Chang, the Bayer Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Notre Dame and lead author of the study about the diagnostic published in Communications Biology.

The challenge for researchers was two-fold: to develop a process that could distinguish between active and non-active EGFRs, and create a diagnostic technology that was sensitive yet selective in detecting active EGFRs on extracellular vesicles from blood samples.

Paris, France:

French police were on Thursday probing theft accusations linked to the sale of valuable stained glass that once adorned Notre-Dame, with auction house Sotheby’s insisting it had done everything by the book.

Two stained glass pieces which disappeared from the landmark cathedral in Paris in 1862 went on the block at Sotheby’s more than a century and a half later, in 2015.

One of the stained glass pieces represents an angel holding a candle, and the other an angel holding a censer. Their diameter is about 40 centimetres (16 inches).

The Sotheby’s house sold them in 2015, one for 123,000 euros and the other for 111,000 euros ($132,000 and $119,000 at current rates).

A French association, “Lumiere sur le Patrimoine” (“Light on Heritage”), specialising in investigating cases of possibly stolen goods at public sales, alleges that the pieces had been robbed from Notre-Dame, and on Wednesday filed a legal complaint for theft, and for the handling of stolen goods.

French prosecutors told AFP they had launched a police investigation “for an initial analysis” of the allegations.

The pieces, believed to date back to the 13th century, were created as a pair, and part of the cathedral’s main rose window on the northern side of its transept.

Sotheby’s said at the time of the sale that they were believed to have been taken down by Eugene Viollet-le-Duc, a famous architect in charge of the cathedral’s restauration, in 1862 and first sold by a stained glass restorer called Edouard Didron sometime between 1877 and 1905.

On Thursday, Sotheby’s said it had respected the law and regulations at the 2015 auction.

“Before putting an item up for sale we proceed to all the research, diligence and controls necessary to ensure that there is no legal obstacle to the sale,” it said in an email to AFP.

The auction house said it had obtained all official authorisations, including export licences, and notified experts and museums.

Sotheby’s said it had not been contacted by the association filing the complaint.

Similar pieces were currently in the possession of the Art and History museum in Geneva, it said.

Notre-Dame, one of the French capital’s most famous monuments, is currently being restored after its roof went up in flames in 2019.

Its spire, which toppled in the blaze, will rise again before the 2024 summer Olympics in Paris, the new chief of the mammoth reconstruction project, Philippe Jost, said Thursday.

Towering 100 metres above ground level, the wooden spire will already be visible from the end of this year, gradually emerging from scaffolding as its roofing is attached, he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)