A year ago, Emmanuel Macron had indicated that he would invite the sovereign pontiff to the reopening ceremony of the cathedral ravaged by fire on April 15, 2019.
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Pope Francis said Friday, September 13, that he would not attend the reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris in December, which was damaged by flames from a massive fire on April 15, 2019. “I won’t go to Paris”Jorge Bergoglio told reporters on the plane returning from a tour of Southeast Asia and Oceania.
After visiting the Notre-Dame Cathedral reconstruction site in Paris on December 8, French President Emmanuel Macron indicated that he intended to invite the Argentinian Jesuit to the reopening of the cathedral on December 7. The Pope’s statement comes a few days after press reports suggested that the head of the Catholic Church would travel to attend the first mass in the restored cathedral on December 8.
On April 15, 2019, a massive fire ravaged the cathedral, a symbol of Christianity listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site that welcomed 12 million visitors each year. It caused the collapse of its spire and the partial collapse of its roof.
Five years after the fire, the restoration work is almost complete. The cathedral recovered the eight bells of its north tower on Thursday, and should see its statue return, probably in November, and its organ, which is currently being tuned.
The Pope did not specify the reasons why he would not make the trip, but at almost 88 years old and despite health problems that limit his mobility and sometimes force him to slow down his activities, his schedule remains busy.
After his 33,000 km journey which took him from Indonesia to Singapore, via Papua New Guinea and East Timor, he is due to travel to Luxembourg and Belgium on 26 September, before heading to the General Assembly of the Synod on the future of the Church in October.