The Reopening Ceremony Notre-Dame Cathedral: Archbishop of Paris to Bang Open the Doors

December 7, 2024 is not just the grand reopening of iconic Medieval age Notre-Dame de Paris in the august presence of dignitaries like the Prince of Wales, Prince William, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and heads of 50 other States, but the celebrations, according to news reports will go on till the Pentecost (49th day after the Easter, June 8, 2025) according to global news organisations. 

The occasion is a big celebration not just for the French but also for the global Christian community and the Medieval Europe’s art and culture admirers.

The reopening ceremony too is going to be unique, in that Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich will bang on the Notre Dame’s shuttered doors with his staff, the authoritative stick, to reopen them after presiding over a reopening service, the cathedral website has been quoted by news organisations as stating. The staff has been prepared especially for the occasion by designer Sylvain Dubuisson. The wood, bearing visible black traces from the blaze, has reportedly been made with pieces of the cathedral roof that collapsed in the fire.

Notre-Dame has been known for its pipe organs—nearly 8000 pipes, all of which had been quiet since 2019 when the fire filled them all up with toxic dust. The pipe organs that have been cleaned now, will cry up in jubilation from tomorrow again with melodious church hymns. According to a report of the global news agency AP, Archbishop Ulrich will address it with a series of incantations, starting with “Awaken, organ, sacred instrument: Sing the praise of God." Four organists, Olivier Latry, Vincent Dubois, Thibault Fajoles and Thierry Escaich, will be seated high above at the newly renovated giant console that controls the instrument through five keyboards of 56 notes each, foot pedals for 30 notes and 115 stops.

After the service, there has been scheduled a musical night. Noted singers are scheduled to perform at the concert specially marking the grandeur of the occasion and that of the Cathedral, and the city of Paris. The city of Paris has been first witness to many new things in the world—including world Cinema, wherein the world’s first feature film was first screened at Grand Cafe in Paris way back in on December 28, 1895. Cinema redefined the art and culture of the ever since.

The renovated Notre-Dame itself reportedly looks grander that it did earlier. “No one alive has seen the cathedral as it looks now," a news organisation wrote, quoting a Church authority of Notre-Dame Cathedral.