Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Associated PressJune 15, 2019
People take photos of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, one day after a major blaze broke out at Paris' iconic cathedral. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, FILE)People take photos of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, one day after a major blaze broke out at Paris' iconic cathedral. (AP Photo/Michel Euler, FILE)

PARIS (AP) — The Notre Dame cathedral is holding its first Mass since the April fire that ravaged the edifice's roof and caused its masterpiece spire to collapse.

Saturday's mass at the Gothic building will be celebrated by Paris archbishop Michel Aupetit amid reduced attendance. For security reasons, only about 30 people — mainly priests, canons and church employees — will be admitted inside the cathedral. Aupetit will be wearing a construction worker's helmet in addition to his miter.

Worshippers won't be authorized in the cathedral but can watch the Mass on a Catholic TV station that is broadcasting the service. Aupetit has also invited some of the workers hired to rebuild the church.

French President Emmanuel Macron has set a goal of rebuilding the cathedral in just five years, which some experts consider impossible to reach.

More: Europe
Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

Pope Francis greets Professor Joseph Stiglitz at the "Debt Crisis in the Global South" meeting at the Vatican in June 2024 (Vatican Media)
An interview on economics and Catholic social teaching with Joseph E. Stiglitz, a Nobel Prize winning economist and a professor at Columbia University.
Kevin ClarkeApril 03, 2025
Lesson one: I had to buy more stamps.
Valerie SchultzApril 03, 2025
Celebrating the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea should give new energy to evangelization efforts, a new document from the International Theological Commission says.
In this episode of “Inside the Vatican,” host Colleen Dulle and veteran Vatican correspondent Gerard O’Connell walk us through the pontiff’s recovery, including “slight improvements” in his speech.
Inside the VaticanApril 03, 2025