Notre Dame’s Bells are Ringing!
The bells at Notre Dame are ringing again in Paris. More than five years after the devastating fire damaged the 861-year-old cathedral, the restored bells tolled in the French capital on November 8, 2024.
The 2019 fire that damaged the majestic cathedral is believed to have been accidental, reported CNN. When it occurred, French President Emmanuel Macron vowed that the reconstruction work would be completed within five years and that the cathedral that sits on the island of on the Île de la Cité in the Seine River would be restored to the way it was.
The eight bells were part of the northern belfry which was partially destroyed in the fire. The technical test occurred to make sure everything worked correctly before the official reopening of the cathedral.
“Hearing the bells ring this morning was very moving,” Alexandre Gougeon, who managed the installation, told CNN. He said it was the culmination of a huge project.
Restoring the bells
The project to restore and install the bells took a year and a half. In addition to the restored bells, three new ones were presented and installed. The largest of the new bells was donated by the Paris Olympics committee. The bell previously rang in the country’s national stadium during the Olympics.
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The two other new bells – Chiara and Carlo – are smaller. There are a total of 21 bells in Notre Dame, each named for an important figure in the church. The largest is called Gabriel and is a hefty four British tonnes and the lightest is Jean-Marie at only 800 kilograms, reported Le Monde.
Shortly before 10:00 am on the morning of the test, the bells sounded one-by-one until they chimed in harmony. “It’s not perfect yet, but we will make it perfect,” Gougeon told Le Monde and added that the first test was a success.
The planned celebration
On November 29, Macron will make a last inspection of the restored awe-inspiring cathedral, This will be his eight visit to the site to view the restoration efforts, ABC News reported. He will be accompanied by donors who helped make the work possible.
More than 2,000 artisans from around the globe worked on the restoration of this historically significant church and its art. But the reopening will not end the work at Notre Dame. There were so many donations given to restore the cathedral that there was money left over that will be used towards ongoing projects.
“The cathedral has never been seen [like this] in living memory, at least since the end of the restoration done by [Eugène Viollet-le-Duc],” presidential special advisor on culture Philippe Belaval said at a press conference. He was referencing the famous 19th-century French architect who did restoration work at the cathedral.
Notre Dame will reopen on the weekend of December 7 and 8, with the return of the 14 th century statue of the Virgin and Child that was moved after the fire. A torchlight procession will bring the statue home. The celebration will be streamed all over the world.
“It is time to reopen Notre-Dame to the 14-15 million visitors we are expecting…Notre-Dame is in itself a sign of unity,” said Monsignor Olivier Ribadeau Dumas, rector-archpriest of Notre-Dame Cathedral.
