Arts & Culture

The solemn reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral put Paris in the center of the Catholic world on the evening of Dec. 7 as the archbishop of France’s capital struck the magnificent door with his pastoral staff, marking the moment of the iconic Catholic church’s rebirth.

President-elect Donald Trump will attend the upcoming reopening ceremony for Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, he said Dec. 2. The trip will mark his first foreign trip since his election to a second term.

As Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris officially reopens Dec. 7-8, bells will ring in churches an ocean away in the United States to celebrate the historic moment.

The world was left stunned when the first images of the rebuilt Notre Dame were published and spread with viral speed as President Emmanuel Macron walked through the bright, unrecognizably beautiful Parisian cathedral on Nov. 29, a week ahead of the Dec. 7-8 official reopening.

Five years later — owing to the courage of Paris’ firefighters, nearly $1 billion from worldwide donors, and the skills of almost 1,000 artisans — Notre Dame is scheduled to reopen to the public Dec. 7-8.