After five long years, the beloved Notre Dame Cathedral is finally back open to the public. In April of 2019, a devastating fire occurred in it, nearly destroying the 862 year-old Cathedral.
The cause of the fire is still unknown but many speculate that it was because of the scaffolding surrounding the cathedral. Another speculation is that a security guard was smoking inside.
Michael Vezzali-Pascual ’88, reflected on that day, saying, “Like many other people, the day that I saw it on TV engulfed in flames, I was standing there in front of the TV, weeping, because it’s such a beautiful place.”
“I never would have expected such a thing to happen. I’m not even sure how it happened to be honest. But I would have expected them to have more measures to prevent a fire,” said Dylan Dubriwny ’26.
The five-year restoration process came with a hefty cost of over $700 million. Many citizens donated, raising $960 million towards the reconstruction of the spire and other burned parts of the cathedral.
Luckily, art historian Andrew Tallon made a 3D model of Notre Dame, which acted as a reference.
Notre Dame reopened its doors on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. A 2-hour ceremony followed with many notable people attending such as Donald Trump, Elon Musk, and even Prince William of Britain. The reopening had Catholic traditions accompanied by a sprinkle of politics.
“It’s a beautiful monument in Paris and I’m happy to see it come back,” said SOTA student Noe Abbassidi ’27.
About 170 bishops and 106 priests from all over the world attended this ceremony to celebrate the joyful reopening.
Having visited Notre Dame in December, the inside was as good as new and an extensive line formed outside of the cathedral to go in.
The inside of the cathedral is as good-as-new following the reconstruction process.
Much of the inside was near perfect, almost like a fire didn’t even occur. Outside, much of the cathedral was rebuilt though scaffolding still remained near the spire.
Dubriwny also said, “I would love to visit Notre Dame again, especially to refresh my memory of the monument. I visited a few months before it burnt down so I’d really enjoy it if I were able to see it again.”
Vezzali-Pascual called it “an inspiration and a wonder of architecture.”
There are many great improvements to come for the cathedral. Many are looking forward to seeing the cathedral fully restored and back to its original beauty.
