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This year, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris will not be able to hold Christmas services because repairs and renovations have not been completed since the fire in April. The cathedral's rector, Father Patrick Chauvet, stated: "This is the first time since the French Revolution that there will be no midnight service at Notre Dame."
The exterior view of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris during renovations.
The Notre Dame Cathedral management chose the Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois church as the temporary venue due to its proximity to Notre Dame and its location next to the Louvre Museum. This also made it easier for clergy living near the cathedral to travel.
For over 200 years, the 850-year-old cathedral has only been closed once, during the Anti-Catholic Revolution of 1803. Even during the most turbulent years of the two world wars, including the Nazi occupation in World War II, the cathedral never had to cancel such an important religious service.
Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris looked magnificent during Christmas 2017.
However, a fire on the night of April 15, 2019, engulfed Notre Dame Cathedral in flames. The blaze broke out in the evening and quickly spread to the roof, destroying the wooden structures before causing the tallest spire to collapse. The fire was later brought under control by 400 firefighters; although there were no casualties, the cultural icon of the City of Lights suffered significant damage.
The images were captured during the fire last April.
Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is a quintessential example of Gothic architecture in France and the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Paris. Construction began in 1163 and was completed in 1345. Its two 69-meter-tall towers were the tallest structures in Paris until the Eiffel Tower was completed in 1889.
French President Emmanuel Macron has set a five-year timeframe for repairs, and the French Ministry of Culture says nearly 1 billion euros (approximately 27 billion VND) has been mobilized to complete this urgent task.
