More than 11 million people have visited Notre Dame since its reopening.

– Caroline de Sury, Paris, OSV News

Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris reopened on December 7, 2024, amid great anticipation, after more than five years of construction work. Before the fire, an estimated 8 to 9 million people visited the cathedral each year. Now, one year after its reopening, more than 11 million people have visited the iconic cathedral in 12 months. 

The cathedral remained closed from April 15, 2019, when a fire destroyed much of the iconic structure. It reopened on December 7, 2024, amid great anticipation. 

For the cathedral's rector, Monsignor Olivier Ribadeu Dumas, this year has been “extremely enriching,” as well as “a year of organizational improvement.” “We had to relearn how to manage the cathedral,” he explained. “We had to rebuild what we might call the ‘family’ of the cathedral, which has grown since the restoration work.’.

“Everyone’s effort is impressive: a smiling face.”

Currently, the cathedral employs eight priests and one deacon, 45 staff members, 310 active volunteers, and more than 50 people responsible for the cathedral's security operations. 

“Everyone is motivated by the same desire to welcome visitors,” explained Monsignor Ribadeau Dumas. “I am impressed by the efforts of everyone, including external service providers, to welcome them with a smile, giving the cathedral a smiling face.”.

On average, between 30,000 and 35,000 visitors from around the world enter the cathedral every day. 

“First and foremost, a place of prayer”

“This does not prevent the cathedral from being a sanctuary where one can find silence and peace,” said the rector. “All our efforts are directed toward introducing visitors to the mystery of this cathedral, which is above all a place of prayer.”. 

Throughout the year, 1,600 liturgical services were held at Notre Dame, during which visitors continued to wander through the side aisles and behind the choir. 

“Their number was slightly reduced during services to preserve the contemplation of the faithful,” explained the rector.

Record year for pilgrimages

Since its reopening, Notre Dame has taken on a new dimension as a pilgrimage destination. “This is new and growing,” Monsignor Ribadeau Dumas told OSV News. “Many dioceses in France now organize pilgrimages to Notre Dame.”. 

In total, more than 650 pilgrimages were made, a third of them from abroad, including 60 from North America. 

Our Lady of All Humanity

“Americans have always shown great interest and generosity toward Notre Dame,” said Monsignor Ribadeau Dumas. “It is important that they be able to come here.”. 

For the rector, this year's richness has been the diversity of the people who came to the cathedral. “We welcomed many patrons and heads of state with some 600 formal visits,” he said. “But we have welcomed with the same attention many elderly or sick people, associations of people with disabilities, those in precarious situations or isolated. Our Lady is Our Lady of humanity, of all humanity,” he emphasized.

Place of pilgrimage with free admission

For the rector, it is extremely important that admission to the cathedral remains free, and he insisted that visitors should not be categorized as tourists or pilgrims. 

“Many who entered as mere visitors left with a truly spiritual experience,” he said, referring to the “spiritual fruits” of the visits he has witnessed this year. 

“We didn't expect it to go that far. What happens to each person at Notre Dame is the secret of the Holy Spirit, but something happens. Some were deeply moved.”.

The reliquary of the crown of thorns

According to testimonies, passing in front of the reliquary of the crown of thorns, behind the choir, has deeply moved visitors throughout the year. 

“It is the most important relic in Christianity and is very evocative,” said the rector. Monsignor Ribadeau Dumas has proposed a significant change for 2026, which came into effect on December 5. The Crown of Thorns will now be on display every Friday of the year, from 3:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., and no longer only on Fridays during Lent and the first Friday of the month, as has been the case until now.

Cost of the crown of thorns, and its rescue

The crown of thorns, placed on Jesus' head by those who captured him in order to cause him pain and mock his claim to authority, was acquired by Saint Louis, then King Louis IX of France, in Constantinople. The price in 1239 was 135,000 pounds, almost half of France's annual expenditure at the time, according to the BBC.

Firefighters and police officers formed a human chain to rescue the crown of thorns from the inferno at Notre Dame on the day of the fire in 2019. On December 13, 2024, this relic, the most sacred in the Paris cathedral, was returned to its home on the Île de la Cité.

A special holiday season

Many visitors were also impressed this year by the discovery of the cathedral's 29 side chapels, which have been completely restored and remodeled with a new identity and coherence.

Over the years, Chinese visitors discovered the chapel of St. Paul Chen, named after the 19th-century Chinese seminarian who was later canonized by St. John Paul II. Mexicans and other Latin Americans discovered the chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which was renovated after World War II. On May 28, a new chapel was inaugurated. chapel for Eastern Christians, which houses eight icons. And on November 8, the restored icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa returned to its chapel during a Mass for the Polish community.

“Everyone should be able to go home and say, ‘This is our Notre Dame,’” said the rector. 

Living cathedral

One year after its reopening, Notre Dame is a «living cathedral,» he added. «When I celebrated Mass there for the first time a year ago, I felt deeply that these stones had witnessed centuries and centuries of prayers before mine. Since then, praying there every day, I know that I am continuing what the generations before us have accomplished.».

On November 29, the rector blessed a large nativity scene with 150 figures from Provence, in southern France. On the same day, the Christmas market opened in the cathedral square. It brings together French artisans and creators. 

At night, the illuminated facade of Notre Dame lights up a square filled with the joy of musicians and singers, where tastings of typical French cuisine delight everyone.

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Caroline de Sury writes for OSV News from Paris.

This information was originally published in OSV News. You can consult it here.

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