Paris — After more than five years of frantic reconstruction work, Notre-Dame Cathedral showed itself to the world on Friday, with high, rebuilt ceilings and creamy, like-new stone erasing dark memories of its devastating 2019 fire.
French television broadcast live footage of President Emmanuel Macron visiting the iconic cathedral, which looked like one worshipers might have experienced in medieval times, with its large open spaces filled with bright light on a chilly winter day and sunny which illuminated the vibrant colors of the stained glass windows.
Flames and smoke that ripped through the building’s stone roof caused immense damage and repairs cost more than $700 million.
But by Friday, the gaping holes in the vaulted ceilings and piles of charred debris were long gone, filled in with new stone. Delicate golden angels look down from the centerpiece of one of the reconstructed ceilings.
The limestone walls of the cathedral appear brand new, free not only of the dust of the fire but also of the grime accumulated over the years. The cathedral attracted millions of worshipers and visitors each year before the fire.
Powerful vacuum cleaners were first used to remove toxic dust released when the fire melted the cathedral’s lead roofs. Thin layers of latex were then sprayed onto the surfaces and removed a few days later, taking the dirt with them.
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Macron entered through the cathedral’s giant, intricately carved front doors and stared at the ceilings in wonder. He was accompanied by his wife Brigitte, the Archbishop of Paris and others.
“You have achieved what we thought was impossible,” Macron told workers after touring the elaborate restoration work. “The fire at Notre-Dame was a national wound, and you were the remedy for it through your will, through your work, through your commitment.”
His visit marks the start of a series of events marking the reopening of the 12th-century Gothic masterpiece. Macron will return on December 7 to deliver a speech and attend the consecration of the new altar during a solemn mass the following day.
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60 Minutes correspondent Bill Whitaker got a rare glimpse inside the rebuilt cathedral just two weeks ago, while work was still underway, and spoke with the man in charge to bring it back to life, Philippe Jost.
“We’re all very proud of what we’ve done together,” Jost told Whitaker.
When asked what first came to mind when he entered the restored building, Jost said it was the “breathtaking” feeling of light and space.
“In this monument, there is a soul,” he told 60 Minutes in an interview broadcast on Sunday. “We feel it…When we walk in now, we feel it.”