Paris’ Notre Dame celebrates first Sunday Mass since fire five years ago

Sunday’s Mass marked the consecration of the cathedral’s new altar, which was carried out in five steps. The relics of five saints were placed and sealed within the altar.

The relics belonged to three women and two men who “marked the history of the Church in Paris,” according to the cathedral’s website, including St. Marie Eugénie Milleret, St. Madeleine Sophie Barat, St. Catherine Labouré, St. Charles de Foucauld and Blessed Vladimir Ghika.

A prayer of dedication was followed by the anointing with oil, marking the key moment of the consecration. The offering of incense followed shortly after, before the altar was finally adorned and illuminated, as the scent of the incense filled the cathedral.

The weekend’s reopening ceremonies marked the start of a week of celebrations for Notre Dame’s reawakening, with many of the hundreds of people involved in the cathedral’s restoration expected to attend services held throughout the week.

Ariel Weil, the mayor of Paris Center, said he felt the weekend’s celebrations had been a major success. And in the wake of a powerful service, he said it was important to remember that while Notre Dame is a “religious place,” it is also “for the secular.”

“I think everyone agrees between the nonreligious powers and the religious powers that the cathedral is sort of indistinctively open to everyone,” he said. “And that’s its nature.”