Paris Archives

Crown of Thorns will return to Notre Dame Cathedral for Good Friday

Apr 7, 2020

Nearly one year after a fire ravaged the famed Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, the city’s archbishop will briefly return to the cathedral its most prized relic, the Crown of Thorns, for veneration on Good Friday, the day in which Catholics commemorate Jesus’s suffering and death.

By Elise Ann Allen

Notre Dame renovation chief says rebuild won’t be rushed

Jan 23, 2020

The French army general in charge of rebuilding fire-ravaged Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris says renovation work will begin in earnest later this year.

By Associated Press

Renovation chief: Notre Dame Cathedral is not saved yet

Jan 5, 2020

Gen. Jean-Louis Georgelin who is overseeing the reconstruction of the fire-devastated Notre Dame Cathedral told French broadcaster CNews on Sunday that “the cathedral is still in a state of peril” after last year’s fire, which destroyed its roof and collapsed its spire as the cathedral was undergoing renovations.

By Sylvie Corbet

Notre Dame rector: Fragile cathedral might not be saved

Dec 25, 2019

The rector of Notre Dame Cathedral says the Paris landmark is still so fragile that there’s a “50% chance” the structure might not be saved, because scaffolding installed before this year’s fire is threatening the vaults of the Gothic monument.

By Associated Press

No Christmas at Notre Dame, as fire forces Mass into exile

Dec 24, 2019

Notre Dame Cathedral is unable to host Christmas services for the first time since the French Revolution, because the Paris landmark was too deeply damaged by this year’s fire.

By Associated Press

Notre Dame Cathedral to miss first Christmas in centuries

Dec 20, 2019

Notre Dame kept Christmas going even during two world wars — a beacon of hope amid the bloodshed. Yet, an accidental fire in peacetime finally stopped the cathedral from celebrating Midnight Mass this year, for the first time in over two centuries.

By Thomas Adamson