OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
5:54 PM – Tuesday, December 2, 2024
This weekend, 47th President-elect Donald Trump will travel abroad for the first time since the election to attend the reopening celebration of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris.
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After more than five years of reconstruction following a devastating fire in 2019 that almost destroyed the towering Paris landmark, the cathedral is scheduled to reopen on Saturday. About 50 heads of state and government are anticipated to attend the high-security events on Saturday and Sunday.
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “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!”
A huge fire that overtook Paris’ Notre Dame in 2019 while Trump was president caused its spire to collapse and almost destroyed what is considered to be one of the greatest architectural monuments in the world, renowned for its captivating stained glass.
Despite Trump and the French president having a complicated past, Emmanuel Macon still congratulated Trump on his 2024 presidential election win on November 6th.
“Congratulations, President @realDonaldTrump,” Macron posted on X on November 6th. “Ready to work together as we did for four years. With your convictions and mine. With respect and ambition. For more peace and prosperity.”
Macron previously criticized Trump for questioning the need for NATO and “raising doubts about America’s commitment to the mutual-defense pact,” AP reported.
“Nobody needs NATO more than France… the U.S. benefits the least,” Trump said in 2019.
Starting on Saturday, there will be a lavish, multi-day celebration to mark Notre Dame’s reopening. According to the cathedral’s website, Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich will lead a reopening liturgy that afternoon and he will allow Notre Dame’s locked doors to reopen with help from his staff.
The booming grand organ of Notre Dame will also be symbolically reactivated by the archbishop. The massive instrument was covered in poisonous dust from the fire that melted the lead roofing of the church. Its 8,000 pipes have undergone meticulous disassembly, cleaning, and adjustment.
Macron will be present and will reportedly “speak to the VIP guests.”
The show’s broadcaster, France Télévisions, has announced that following the service, a concert will be held on Saturday evening featuring performances by opera singers Pretty Yende from South Africa and Julie Fuchs from France, Chinese pianist Lang Lang, cellist Yo-Yo Ma from Paris, singer Angelique Kidjo from Benin, Lebanese singer Hiba Tawaji, among others.
The new altar’s consecration and inaugural Mass will be presided over by the Paris archbishop on Sunday morning.
Priests from all 106 parishes in the Paris diocese will participate in the celebration, as will over 170 bishops from France and other nations. After the Mass, there will be a “fraternal buffet” for those in need.
During the activities, tourists will not be allowed to enter the Ile de la Cité, where the cathedral is located in the center of the Seine. There will be a 40,000-seat public viewing facility erected along the southern bank of the Seine.
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