Archpriest of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral Monsignor Olivier Ribadeau Dumas blesses a Nativity scene in the recently reopened cathedral on Dec. 20, 2024, in Paris. / Credit: Kiran Ridley/Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Dec 20, 2024 / 14:05 pm (CNA).

The rector of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris has blessed the Nativity scene at the historic French landmark church ahead of the first Christmas celebrations since its restoration after a devastating 2019 fire.

“You know, for the past 10 days, we’ve been feeling very joyful,” said Notre Dame rector Monsignor Olivier Ribadeau Dumas during the ceremony. “My greatest joy is to see people happy because they have a cathedral again, not only because they see these stones again but also because it’s a place for prayer that they got back.”

During the ceremonial blessing of the 17th-century-style creche, Dumas shook an olive branch soaked in holy water over the Nativity scene, while those of the faithful in attendance prayed and sang hymns. 

“I am the rector of a cathedral that had burnt down,” Dumas said, adding: “and I am now the happy rector of a cathedral that has reopened to welcome all of those who will enter it: pilgrims, visitors, and believers.” 

Notre Dame Cathedral underwent five years of renovation after a fire in April 2019 broke out across its roof and spire, causing significant damage to the beloved cathedral and monument of French culture. 

The archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, celebrated the first Mass at the cathedral on Dec. 8, the solemnity of the Immaculate Conception. The altar of the restored cathedral was consecrated during the liturgy, and celebrants wore vibrant chasubles designed by Jean-Charles Castelbajac, a 74-year-old designer who has dressed the likes of Madonna, Beyonce, Rihanna, and St. John Paul II. 

At the Mass, which was attended by the president of France, Emmanuel Macron, some 170 bishops from the country and around the world concelebrated with Ulrich as well as one priest from each of the 106 parishes of the Archdiocese of Paris and one priest from each of the seven Eastern-rite Catholic churches.

Macron, initially scheduled to speak on the cathedral’s forecourt to respect the law of separation between the church and the state, wound up speaking inside the building due to inclement weather, as previously announced in a press release from the Archdiocese of Paris.

Expressing “the gratitude of the French nation” to the cathedral’s rebuilders during his address, Macron asserted that Notre Dame “tells us how much meaning and transcendence help us to live in this world.”

Pope Francis also sent his regards in a message read by the apostolic nuncio to France, Archbishop Celestino Migliore.

“May the rebirth of this admirable church be a prophetic sign of the renewal of the Church in France,” the pontiff said. “I invite all the baptized who will joyfully enter this cathedral to feel a legitimate pride and reclaim their faith heritage.”