Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Notre Dame Cathedral to Miss First Christmas in Centuries
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
December 20, 2019

Share

PARIS — Notre Dame kept Christmas going even during two world wars — a beacon of hope amid the bloodshed.
Yet an accidental fire in peacetime finally stopped the Paris cathedral from celebrating Midnight Mass this year, for the first time in over two centuries.

“This is the first time since the French Revolution that there will be no midnight Mass (at Notre Dame).”cathedral rector Patrick Chauvet
As the lights stay dim in the once-invincible 855-year-old landmark, officials are trying hard to focus on the immediate task of keeping burned out Notre Dame ‘s spirit alive in exile through service, song and prayer.
It has decamped its rector, famed statue, liturgy and Christmas celebrations to a new temporary home pending the restoration works, just under a mile away, at another Gothic church in Paris called Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois.
And there it will remain, as works slowly progress to rebuild the cathedral after the April 15 fire destroyed its lead roof and spire and was moments away from engulfing its two stone towers.
“This is the first time since the French Revolution that there will be no midnight Mass (at Notre Dame),” cathedral rector Patrick Chauvet told The Associated Press.
There was even a Christmas service amid the carnage of World War I, Chauvet noted, “because the canons were there and the canons had to celebrate somewhere,” referring to the cathedral’s clergy. During World War II, when Paris was under Nazi occupation, “there was no problem.” He said that to his knowledge, it was only closed for Christmas in the period after 1789, when the anti-Catholic French revolutionaries turned the monument into “a temple of reason.”
Christmas-in-exile at Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois this year will be a history-making moment.

Chauvet Said Having It Nearby for Christmas Is Comforting

“We have the opportunity to celebrate the Mass outside the walls, so to speak… but with some indicators that Notre Dame is connected to us,” Chauvet said.
Those indicators include a wooden liturgical platform that has been constructed in the Saint-Germain church to resemble Notre Dame’s own. A service will be led at midnight on Dec. 24 by Chauvet to a crowd of faithful, including many who would normally worship in the cathedral, accompanied by song from some of Notre Dame’s now-itinerant choir.
The cathedral’s iconic Gothic sculpture “The Virgin of Paris,” from which some say Notre Dame owes its name, is also on display in the new annex.
The 14th-century masterpiece, which measures around six feet and depicts Mary and baby Jesus, has come to embody the officials’ message of hope following the fire.
“It’s a miraculous virgin. Why? Because at the time of the fire, the vault of the cathedral completely crashed. There were stones everywhere, but she was spared. She could have naturally received the vault on her head and have been completely crushed,” Chauvet said.
He recalled the moment on the night of the fire when he discovered it was saved, as he was holding hands with French President Emmanuel Macron on the cathedral’s forecourt. Around midnight as the flames subsided, they were finally let inside to look. Chauvet pointed and exclaimed to Macron: “Look at the Virgin, she is there!”
He said later that Notre Dame’s workmen on the ground implored him to not remove the statue from the cathedral, saying that during the restoration “we need it. She protects us.”
Chauvet said having it nearby for Christmas is comforting.

Photo of members of the Notre Dame cathedral choir
In this photo taken Monday, Dec. 16, 2019, members of the Notre Dame cathedral choir rehearse at the Saint Sulpice church in Paris. Notre Dame Cathedral kept holding services during two world wars as a beacon of hope amid bloodshed and fear. It took a fire in peacetime to finally stop Notre Dame from celebrating Christmas Mass for the first time in more than two centuries. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

It Was Once a Royal Church That Boasted Among Its Faithful French Kings

“She lived very much in Notre Dame. She watched the pilgrims, all the 35,000 visitors a day … It keeps us going,” Chauvet said.
Another reason for hope: Since November, after months in the dark, the facade of the cathedral is being lit up after dusk for the first time since the fire. Tourists over the festive period can now see the famed gargoyles and stone statues at night in their full illuminated splendor from the adjacent bridges, although the forecourt is still closed.

“The cathedra is at the cathedral and so it remains Notre Dame Cathedral, which is the cathedral in the heart of Paris.” — cathedral rector Patrick Chauvet
Cathedral officials carefully chose Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois as the new temporary home because of its proximity to Notre Dame, just next to the Louvre, allowing ease of movement for clerics who lived near the cathedral. Also, because of its prestigious history.
It was once a royal church that boasted among its faithful French kings, in the days when they lived in the nearby Louvre Palace. The kings, Chauvet explained, would simply cross the esplanade to come and attend Mass.
Since September, the church has been welcoming the cathedral’s flock each Sunday.
Though Notre Dame has moved liturgically to a new home, Notre Dame will always remain Paris’ cathedral so long as the bishop’s physical chair, or “cathedra” doesn’t move.
Derived from the Greek word for “seat,” a cathedral’s entire identity technically boils down to the presence of a chair.
“The cathedra is at the cathedral and so it remains Notre Dame Cathedral, which is the cathedral in the heart of Paris,” Chauvet said.

On Christmas Eve, Its Members Will Sing at Various Yuletide Events

It is not only the faithful who have been displaced since April’s blaze.
Notre Dame was home to a vibrant 160-strong choir-school, which provided singers for each of the cathedral’s some 1,000 annual services. Midnight Mass at Christmas was always a special event in the year: One of the rare times the entire choir sung together and used the cathedral’s famed acoustics to their fullest.
Instead of disbanding, this now-homeless chorus of singers, ranging in age from 6 to 30, has too honed an upbeat message and decided to continue on in a divided form. Different sections of the choir put on concerts in churches, such as Saint-Eustache and Saint-Sulpice, in Paris and beyond. On Christmas Eve, its members will sing at various yuletide events, including at Saint-Germain l’Auxerrois, as well as, bizarrely, at the Russian Circus.
But don’t mention the term choir-in-exile to one of the choir’s directors, Henri Chalet.
“I’d rather use ‘beyond the walls’… ‘Exile’ brings it back to sadness. Obviously, there is a lot of sadness and desolation for us to no longer be in our second home. But there is also a lot of hope because it is only a phase,” Chalet said.
In the grand scheme of things, five or six years of restoration for an 855-year-old cathedral “is nothing at all,” Chalet reasoned. Macron declared in the days after the blaze it would take a mere five years to restore the cathedral — a timeline many experts deem unrealistic.

The Unique Acoustics Produced by the Cathedral’s Massive Dimensions Are Sorely Missed

Notre Dame choir singer Mathilde Ortscheidt, 29, left a little more space for melancholy as she regretted her absence at last year’s Midnight Mass.
“To think that I was ill last Christmas…thinking that I would go again this year with no problem!” she said.
On the first rehearsal she attended after the blaze, she said she “felt such a pain and such sadness” because the cathedral was where she began as a singer.
For the singers, the unique acoustics produced by the cathedral’s massive dimensions are sorely missed.
“When we balanced it right, it was the most beautiful feeling of just hearing it resonate through this enormous space,” Ortscheidt said.
Despite having “to walk around a lot now,” people have got used to the choir’s new lifestyle, she said, and it was just a matter of time before there will be song in the cathedral once again.
In the meantime, “the important thing for us is that we keep on singing and doing the music. That’s what brings us together.”
[activecampaign form=29]

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Townsizing? Land Snorkeling? A User’s Guide to the Latest Travel Lingo

DON'T MISS

Trump Trade War Has Already Had Huge Effect on California Ports

DON'T MISS

Cambodian American Chefs Are Finding Success and Raising Their Culture’s Profile. On Their Terms

DON'T MISS

Ancient DNA Reveals a New Group of People Who Lived Near Land Bridge Between the Americas

DON'T MISS

FDA Approves Moderna’s New Lower-Dose COVID-19 Vaccine

DON'T MISS

Cabrera, Three Relievers Combine to Lead Marlins to Win Over Giants

DON'T MISS

Spike in Steel Tariffs Could Imperil Trump Promise of Lower Grocery Prices

DON'T MISS

Dodgers’ Mookie Betts Out With Broken Toe After Late-Night Bedroom Mishap

DON'T MISS

California Gubernatorial Candidate Steve Hilton Vows to Repeal Transgender Athlete Law

DON'T MISS

Trans Athlete Competes in California Championships in Clovis Despite National Controversy

UP NEXT

1 in 4 US Children Have Parents With Substance Use Disorder, Study Finds

UP NEXT

In Marseille, a Shadow Becomes Art in Banksy’s Latest Street Mural

UP NEXT

Dozens Sickened in Expanding Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Recalled Cucumbers

UP NEXT

Speaker Johnson Raises Campaign Money in Fresno

UP NEXT

UN May Cut Staff by 20%, Internal Memo Says

UP NEXT

Netanyahu Says Israel Accepts Witkoff’s New Gaza Truce Proposal, Media Report

UP NEXT

Business Insider Cuts 21% of Workforce, Memo Shows

UP NEXT

Harvard Agrees to Relinquish Early Photos of Slaves, Ending a Long Legal Battle

UP NEXT

Silence on E. Coli Outbreak Highlights How Trump Team’s Changes Undermine Food Safety

UP NEXT

Food Trucks in Gaza Raided, Underscoring Aid Distribution Problems

Trans Athlete in Political Storm Earns, and Shares, First Place in Event

51 minutes ago

Trump Budget Proposes Closing Northeast Heating Oil Reserve

1 hour ago

Supreme Court Turns Down Challenge to Ban on Semiautomatic Rifles

1 hour ago

1 Officer Killed, 1 Wounded and Another Man Dead in Los Angeles County Shooting

2 hours ago

RFK Jr. Says Autism ‘Destroys’ Families. Here’s What Those Families Want You to Know

2 hours ago

California Plan to Ban Most Plants Within 5 Feet of Homes for Wildfire Safety

2 hours ago

Ukraine and Russia End Their Latest Round of Direct Peace Talks in Istanbul

2 hours ago

Man Attacks Colorado Crowd With Firebombs, 8 People Injured

2 hours ago

US Construction Spending Falls in April on Weakness in Single-Family Housing Projects

2 hours ago

Wall Street Opens Lower After Trump’s Steel Tariff Threat

2 hours ago

Trump Asks US Supreme Court to Allow Mass Federal Layoffs

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Donald Trump’s administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to halt a judicial order blocking ma...

17 minutes ago

Demonstrators protest outside the Center for Disease Control, in Atlanta, after the Trump administration began mass layoffs of 10,000 staffers at U.S. health agencies under the Department of Health and Human Services, including the FDA, CDC and the National Institutes of Health, in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. April 1, 2025. REUTERS/Megan Varner/File Photo
17 minutes ago

Trump Asks US Supreme Court to Allow Mass Federal Layoffs

18 minutes ago

Fresno State Baseball Team Bounced From NCAA Regional

Palestinians pray during the funeral of a person who was killed while heading to a Gaza aid hub, along with three others who were killed during an Israeli strike, as they gather at the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Sunday, June 1, 2025. (AP/Abdel Kareem Hana)
29 minutes ago

Israeli Forces Open Fire a Kilometer Away From Gaza Aid Site, Killing 3, Health Officials Say

AB Hernandez, center, flashes a sign as she shares the first-place spot on the podium with Jillene Wetteland, left, and Lelani Laruelle during a medal ceremony for the high jump at the California high school track-and-field championships in Clovis, Calif., Saturday, May 31, 2025. In a rules compromise, AB Hernandez shared first place in the high jump and triple jump in the California high school championship, and shared spots on the awards podium, too. (Adam Perez/The New York Times)
51 minutes ago

Trans Athlete in Political Storm Earns, and Shares, First Place in Event

U.S. President Donald Trump walks as he departs for Pennsylvania, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 30, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura/File Photo
1 hour ago

Trump Budget Proposes Closing Northeast Heating Oil Reserve

A ticket reading "sold" hangs from an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle in Pasadena, Md., Jan. 14, 2013. The Supreme Court announced on Monday that it would not hear a major Second Amendment challenge to a Maryland law banning semiautomatic rifles like the AR-15. As is the court’s practice, its brief order gave no reasons. (Steve Ruark/The New York Times)
1 hour ago

Supreme Court Turns Down Challenge to Ban on Semiautomatic Rifles

L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna addresses the media in Castaic, Calif, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023. (AP File)
2 hours ago

1 Officer Killed, 1 Wounded and Another Man Dead in Los Angeles County Shooting

Eileen Lamb, from left, who was diagnosed with autism as an adult, watches over her children, Charlie Lamb and Jude, right, who also have autism, and daughter Billie, Monday, May 12, 2025, in Austin, Texas. (AP/Eric Gay)
2 hours ago

RFK Jr. Says Autism ‘Destroys’ Families. Here’s What Those Families Want You to Know

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend