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WORLD NEWS Notre Dame to hold first mass since April blaze https://linewsradio.com/notre-dame-to-hold-first-mass-since-april-blaze/ http://abcnewsradioonline.com/world-news/

ABC News(PARIS) — The Notre Dame Cathedral is opening its doors to worshipers on Saturday, marking the first time since a devastating fire tore through its halls in April.

The Archdiocese of Paris announced that a mass will be held “on a very small scale” on Saturday with a “restricted” number of people in a “side chapel,” according to Agence France-Presse.

Paris Archbishop Michel Aupetit will deliver the mass, which will be televised live, on June 15, the agency reported.

The date signifies an anniversary of sorts for the cathedral: the consecration of the church’s altar is normally celebrated annually on June 16.

On April 15, a blaze that took hours to extinguish tore through the 850-year-old building in the heart of France’s capital.

The fire was ignited during an evening mass at the start of Holy Week, the busiest and most important period of the liturgical year.

Millions mourned the extent of the destruction in the landmark of Gothic architecture, but miraculously, much of the relics and structure of the cathedral survived, including its famous rose windows.

On the evening of the blaze, rescuers were intent on saving the relics inside — including what Catholics believe is the crown of thorns that Jesus wore during the Passion — as well as Notre Dame’s great organ and its 8,000 pipes, along with the building itself.

Retired French Gen. Jean-Louis Georgelin was chosen by French President Emmanuel Macron to lead the cathedral’s restoration.

“Nothing is impossible to a French general,” Georgelin told ABC News’ David Muir in an exclusive interview, saying that he agrees with Macron that Notre Dame could reopen within five years. But, he said, “When there’s a will, there’s a way.” </s> Notre Dame Cathedral on Saturday held its first mass since a devastating fire tore through the building two months ago on April 15.

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Only a small group of about 30 people attended the mass, including the church’s clergy, worshipers, media and construction workers. The mass was also transmitted live on a French Catholic TV station, and dozens of other Catholics attended the service from outside the cathedral, watching on their phones.

The small group convened in a chapel behind the large gold-covered cross that was miraculously found intact after the fire, which destroyed the building’s roof, causing its iconic spire to collapse. For safety reasons, those attending the mass were asked to wear hard hats inside the church.

Karine Perret/POOL/EPA via Shutterstock

Paris archbishop Michel Aupetit led the service. He has pushed for the reconstruction of Notre-Dame since the fire and wanted to hold the mass as a way to keep the energy around the monument’s recovery alive.

French Minister of Culture Franck Riester that only 9% of the $955 million in donations that had been promised to Notre Dame’s reconstruction had actually been received, according to Agence France-Press. He said some donors were waiting to send their donations because they wanted clear plans for how their money would be spent.

The mass was held a day before an annual celebration of the consecration of the church’s altar, known as the feast of the Dedication of Our Lady, and Aupetit prayed to the statue of the Virgin Mary, saying that he was thankful to be there.

Zakaria Abdelkafi/AFP/Getty Images

“It was extraordinary,” he said, “to be able to celebrate again, even in this wounded cathedral. I was ordained bishop in this cathedral.”

Aupetit called it “a little weird” praying with hard hats on and said that he took it off during the consecration because “come on.”

He hopes he’ll be able to hold mass again soon, though. “As soon as I’m given the authorization again, I will go again, because I used to go all the time,” he said.

Zakaria Abdelkafi/AFP/Getty Images

The church site is still being investigated by the French police. Investigators have now seized 100 samples from the crime scene to undergo laboratory examinations. However, they fear that a lot of the samples won’t be useful.

Investigators believe that the fire started because of a short-circuit around the electrified bells in the spire. They also believe that there had been a human error in locating the fire, and that a security guard inspected the wrong sector of the church.

As the investigation continues, the church’s reconstruction will remain on hold until the it is fully cleared of rubble. Yet still, with this mass, the clergy around Notre Dame demonstrates that it’s eager to start a regular church life again. </s> After the devastating fire in April, Notre Dame Cathedral stopped holding services for months out of safety concerns, but on June 15, Paris Archbishop Michel Aupetit performed the Mass wearing a hardhat as the building is still “in a fragile state.”

Town & Country reports that the Mass was limited to 30 people including priests, canons, and other religious representatives, all of whom had to wear protective headgear as the vault has not yet been secured.

Archbishop Aupetit shared a statement to thank everyone who had contributed to the reconstruction efforts.

But a Notre Dame press official says that the big European donors who pledged millions immediately after the fire, like French billionaires like François-Henri Pinault and Bernard Arnault, haven’t paid. “Not a cent.”

The New York Times reports that the solemn first Mass which was restricted in size due to security concerns was televised via video on a Catholic channel on YouTube. The Mass was held in the Chapel of the Virgin, and as the camera pans around, viewers can see the charred timbers caused by the fire.

While the edifice of the cathedral is still being shored up, approximately 150 people are now working on site to refurbish the building.

The Mass on June 15 was held on this day which is significant because it marked the consecration of Notre Dame’s altar, typically celebrated every year. The cathedral continues to be closed to the public, but this annual celebration was important, says Monsignor Aupetit.

“The cathedral was born of the faith of our ancestors,” Monsignor Aupetit said in his service. “It was born of Christian hope.”

Just after the fire, French President Emmanuel Macron pledged to rebuild Notre Dame within five years, but that plan has been criticized.

But there has been a bright side following the fire, says The Inquisitr, as parts of the cathedral were preserved, including the beehives (from which honey was collected) which were situated on the roof of the building near the spires which collapsed. Following the fire, experts feared that even if the housing was still in place, that it was likely that the bees were killed by the heat and the smoke.

But drones flew over, piloted by urban beekeeping company, Beeopic, and shared that everything was still intact. </s> Notre-Dame to celebrate first Mass since April fire

PARIS (AP) — The Notre Dame cathedral is holding its first Mass since the April fire that ravaged the edifice's roof and caused its masterpiece spire to collapse.

Saturday's mass at the Gothic building will be celebrated by Paris archbishop Michel Aupetit amid reduced attendance. For security reasons, only about 30 people — mainly priests, canons and church employees — will be admitted inside the cathedral. Aupetit will be wearing a construction worker's helmet in addition to his miter.

Worshippers won't be authorized in the cathedral but can watch the Mass on a Catholic TV station that is broadcasting the service. Aupetit has also invited some of the workers hired to rebuild the church.

French President Emmanuel Macron has set a goal of rebuilding the cathedral in just five years, which some experts consider impossible to reach. </s> PARIS – A small Mass will be celebrated at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris Saturday evening — the first since a fire destroyed the structure’s spire, parts of the roof and vault in April.

Access to the event will be extremely limited due to safety concerns, with just 20 to 30 people expected to attend, the Archdiocese of Paris said.

As of June 12, the Notre Dame Foundation had received donations of 15.7 million euros ($17.7 million), and donors have pledged an additional 377 million euros ($425 million).

Most of these funds are to be used to restore the cathedral, although some will be used to receive pilgrims, repair damaged goods and organize religious music at the site, according to the archdiocese.

The Mass will be led by Michel Aupetit, the archbishop of Paris, who said in a statement, “May all those who have mobilized since April 15 and all those who continue to work every day for Notre Dame, be they donors, architects, construction workers, political leaders, be warmly thanked for their efforts.” </s> Paris's Notre-Dame to celebrate first mass after fire

The Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris will host its first mass on Saturday, exactly two months after the devastating blaze that shocked France and the world.For safety reasons, the mass led by Archbishop of Paris Michel Aupetit will be celebrated on a very small scale. Worshippers will be expected to don hard hats but priests will be wearing their ceremonial garb. There will be just some 30 people -- half of them clergy -- although the mass will be broadcast live on Catholic TV channel KTO. It will take place at 6:00 pm (1600 GMT) in the Chapel of the Virgin on the east side of the cathedral behind the choir, which has been confirmed to be safe.

SEE ALSO :'Paris is disfigured': Tears and shock as Notre-Dame burns

Aupetit will be joined by the rector of Notre-Dame, Patrick Chauvet, canons, volunteers, people working on the restoration as well a handful of lay worshippers. The date has been chosen as it is the anniversary of the consecration of the cathedral's altar, which is celebrated every year on June 16. The date is "highly significant, spiritually," Chauvet told AFP, adding he was happy to be able to show that "Notre-Dame is truly alive".President Emmanuel Macron has set an ambitious target of five years for restoring Notre-Dame, which was gutted by a fire on April 15 that felled its steeple and consumed the lattice of beams supporting the roof.

SEE ALSO :Firefighters race to save Notre-Dame Cathedral

The diocese is awaiting a response from the French authorities over whether it can re-open the esplanade in front of the cathedral to the public. If the authorities approve the plan, the idea is to celebrate evening prayers there, the diocese said. The church has also floated the idea of erecting a temporary structure in front of the cathedral to welcome worshippers while the building is repaired. Up to 150 workers have been working at the cathedral daily since the fire, continuing to remove debris and stabilise the structure. Two large white canopies have been placed above the nave and the choir to ensure the edifice is protected, including from the rain.

SEE ALSO :Macron vows to rebuild Notre-Dame Cathedral

Macron's call for an "inventive" rather than identical reconstruction of the steeple has left some architects up in arms. Meanwhile, legislation over the reconstruction has been blocked in parliament over disagreements between the upper and lower houses and is now only expected to be adopted at the end of July. Pledges of some 850 million euros ($960 million) had been made from prominent French businessmen and ordinary citizens but only around 10 percent has been donated so far. France Info public radio said just 80 million euros had been paid, with businessmen giving the money in tranches and some private individuals renouncing their pledges due to the apparent success of the campaign.

Register to advertise your products & services on our classifieds website Digger.co.ke and enjoy one month subscription free of charge and 3 free ads on the Standard newspaper. </s> The Notre Dame cathedral in Paris hosted its first mass on Saturday exactly two months after a devastating blaze, with priests and worshippers wearing hard hats to protect themselves against possible falling debris.

Dressed in a white robe and helmet, Archbishop of Paris Michel Aupetit led the service, which was attended by just some 30 people - half of them clergy.

WATCH: From futuristic to crazy - here are some ideas for Notre Dame's new look

"The fire, which ravaged the building on April 15, has provoked a wave of emotion, not only for the community of believers," Archbishop Aupetit said in his sermon, broadcast live

"This cathedral is a place of worship, that's its true and unique purpose."

The mass started at 16:00 GMT in the Chapel of the Virgin on the east side of the cathedral, confirmed to be safe.

Protective nets have been strung above the nave and choir and rubble still strews the floor but the pews have remained intact.

Aupetit was joined by the rector of Notre-Dame, Patrick Chauvet, other clergy, volunteers, people working on the restoration as well a handful of lay worshippers.

The date was chosen as it is the anniversary of the consecration of the cathedral's altar, which is celebrated every year on June 16.

The date is "highly significant, spiritually," Chauvet had told AFP ahead of the service, adding he was happy to be able to show that "Notre-Dame is truly alive".

President Emmanuel Macron has set an ambitious target of five years for restoring Notre-Dame, which was gutted by a fire on April 15 that felled its steeple and consumed the lattice of beams supporting the roof.

The diocese is awaiting a response from the French authorities over whether it can re-open the esplanade in front of the cathedral to the public.

If the authorities approve the plan, the idea is to celebrate evening prayers there, the diocese said.

The church has also floated the idea of erecting a temporary structure in front of the cathedral to welcome worshippers while the building is being repaired.

Up to 150 workers have been working at the cathedral daily since the fire, continuing to remove debris and stabilise the structure.

Two large white canopies have been put in place to ensure the edifice is protected, including from rain.

Macron's call for an "inventive" rather than identical reconstruction of the steeple has left some architects up in arms.

Meanwhile, legislation over the reconstruction has been blocked in parliament over disagreements between the upper and lower houses and is now only expected to be adopted at the end of July.

Pledges of some $960m had been made from prominent French businessmen and ordinary citizens but only around 10% of that has been donated so far.

France Info public radio said just 80 million euros had been handed over, with businessmen giving the money in tranches and some private individuals renouncing their pledges due to the apparent success of the campaign.

Notre-Dame has figured as a central character through the ups and downs of French history since construction began in mid-12th century.

During the French Revolution in the 18th century, it was vandalised and plundered but went on to feature as a central character in a Victor Hugo's novel "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame" (1831) which is credited with helping save it.

It survived the devastation of two global conflicts in the 20th century and famously rang its bells on August 24, 1944, the day of the Liberation of Paris from German occupation at the end of the World War II.

KEEP UPDATED on the latest news by subscribing to our FREE newsletter. </s> The iconic Notre-Dame Catholic building in Paris was razed by fire early this year

The iconic Notre-Dame Catholic building in Paris was razed by fire early this year

PARIS: The Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris will host its first mass on Saturday (Jun 15), exactly two months after the devastating blaze that shocked France and the world.

For safety reasons, the mass led by Archbishop of Paris Michel Aupetit will be celebrated on a very small scale. Worshippers will be expected to don hard hats but priests will be wearing their ceremonial garb.

There will be just some 30 people – half of them clergy – although the mass will be broadcast live on Catholic TV channel KTO.

It will take place at 6pm (12am Sunday, Singapore time) in the Chapel of the Virgin on the east side of the cathedral behind the choir, which has been confirmed to be safe.

Aupetit will be joined by the rector of Notre-Dame, Patrick Chauvet, canons, volunteers, people working on the restoration as well a handful of lay worshippers.

The date has been chosen as it is the anniversary of the consecration of the cathedral’s altar, which is celebrated every year on Jun 16.

The date is “highly significant, spiritually”, Chauvet told AFP, adding he was happy to be able to show that “Notre-Dame is truly alive”.

President Emmanuel Macron has set an ambitious target of five years for restoring Notre-Dame, which was gutted by a fire on Apr 15 that felled its steeple and consumed the lattice of beams supporting the roof.

The diocese is awaiting a response from the French authorities over whether it can re-open the esplanade in front of the cathedral to the public.

If the authorities approve the plan, the idea is to celebrate evening prayers there, the diocese said.

The church has also floated the idea of erecting a temporary structure in front of the cathedral to welcome worshippers while the building is repaired.

Up to 150 workers have been working at the cathedral daily since the fire, continuing to remove debris and stabilise the structure.

Two large white canopies have been placed above the nave and the choir to ensure the edifice is protected, including from the rain.

Macron’s call for an “inventive” rather than identical reconstruction of the steeple has left some architects up in arms.

Meanwhile, legislation over the reconstruction has been blocked in parliament over disagreements between the upper and lower houses and is now only expected to be adopted at the end of July.

Pledges of €850 million (US$960 million) had been made from prominent French businessmen and ordinary citizens but only around 10 per cent has been donated so far.

France Info public radio said just €80 million had been paid, with businessmen giving the money in tranches and some private individuals renouncing their pledges due to the apparent success of the campaign. </s> PARIS — The archbishop wore a hard-hat helmet, burnt wood debris was still visible and only about 30 people were let inside, but Notre Dame Cathedral on Saturday held its first Mass since the devastating April 15th fire that ravaged its roof and toppled its masterpiece spire.

Exactly two months after the blaze engulfed the landmark Gothic building in the French capital, the service was celebrated by Paris Archbishop Michel Aupetit in a chapel behind the choir, a place confirmed by construction experts as safe.

French Culture Minister Franck Riester said this week the cathedral remains in a “fragile” state, especially its vaulted ceiling, which is still at risk of collapsing.

For security reasons, only about 30 people — mainly priests, canons and church employees — were admitted inside the cathedral for the service, while Aupetit and others wore construction worker’s helmets. Some of the workers rebuilding the church were also invited.

Other worshippers could watch the Mass live on a Catholic TV station. The video showed some burnt wood still in the church but a famous statue of the Virgin and Child appeared intact behind wooden construction planks.

The annual Dedication Mass commemorated the cathedral’s consecration as a place of worship.

“This cathedral is a place of worship, it is its very own and unique purpose,” Aupetit said.

One French priest called the service “a true happiness, full of hope.”

“We will rebuild this cathedral. It will take time of course — a lot of money, lot of time, lot of work — but we will succeed,” Father Pierre Vivares told The Associated Press outside the cathedral. “Today it’s a small but a true victory against the disaster we have had.”

It is still unclear when the cathedral will reopen to the public.

French President Emmanuel Macron has set a goal of rebuilding it in just five years, which many experts consider unrealistic. In the meantime, the French parliament is debating amendments to a new law that would create a public body to expedite the restoration of the cathedral and circumvent some of France’s complex labor laws.

Meanwhile, billionaire French donors who publicly proclaimed they would give hundreds of millions to rebuild Notre Dame have not yet paid a penny toward the restoration of the French national monument, according to church and business officials.

Instead, it’s mainly American and French individuals, via Notre Dame charitable foundations, that are behind the first donations paying the bills and salaries for up to 150 workers employed by the cathedral since the April 15 fire that devastated its roof and caused its masterpiece spire to collapse. This month they are handing over the first private payment for the cathedral’s reconstruction of 3.6 million euros ($4 million).

“The big donors haven’t paid. Not a cent,” said Andre Finot, senior press official at Notre Dame. “They want to know what exactly their money is being spent on and if they agree to it before they hand it over, and not just to pay employees’ salaries.”

Almost $1 billion was promised by some of France’s richest and most powerful families and companies, some of whom sought to outbid each other, in the hours and days after the inferno. It prompted criticism that the donations were as much about the vanity of the donors wishing to be immortalized in the edifice’s fabled stones than the preservation of France’s church heritage. </s> ROME — The president of France and the archbishop of Paris have vowed to rebuild Notre Dame Cathedral after a devastating fire, continuing what a professor of architecture described as the natural lifecycle of a historic building.

Steven W. Semes, a professor and director of graduate studies in the Historic Preservation Program at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, said he was as shocked and pained as everyone watching on television as the building burned April 15.

“Like all historic monuments,” he said, Notre Dame Cathedral is “the result of hundreds and hundreds of years of development” with an initial idea, a long and labor-intensive construction process, design changes, additions, demolitions and remodeling over and over again as fashions and usages change.

So, from the initial construction, which began in 1160, the cathedral “was transformed multiple times,” he told Catholic News Service in Rome, where he regularly teaches. When one looked at Notre Dame before the fire, “we weren’t seeing the cathedral as it was built, we were seeing it through layers of change.”

“Buildings and cities do change through time,” Semes said. “We wouldn’t go see a painting by Rembrandt that four people had painted over, but we look at almost any historic building and we see something that has been restored multiple times — sometimes restored in a way very faithful to an early state and sometimes not.”

“One thing about buildings and cities is that they are more like natural phenomena than other art works. Think of a forest. You can have a fire in a forest, but then it comes to life again,” he said. “Buildings are resilient.”

“Hope springs from seeing monuments that have endured,” even though they almost never remain unchanged, Semes said.

“A lot of people are feeling today, ‘We can’t do it again’ or ‘It can’t be restored,'” and while that would be true of a painting, the professor said, “we do have the skills to restore this building.”

“Obviously, a big fire has a big impact,” he said, but even for nonbelievers, there is a sensitivity to the fact that Notre Dame Cathedral was not just a treasure of Gothic architecture.

“Notre Dame was truly a work of devotion,” he said. “Think about it — how large the building was compared to everything else in the city, the attention, the loving care that went into making it, ornamenting it and maintaining it. This is truly an act of devotion; it is a kind of sacramental.”

The building as a church “speaks to people,” whether they are believers, he said, pointing to similar reactions in 2015 when a massive earthquake in Nepal toppled Buddhist statues and monuments. “We feel these things even if we are not personally involved in that particular tradition.”

The key to understanding Notre Dame Cathedral was summarized by Paris Archbishop Michel Aupetit in a television interview in the wee hours of April 16: “Why was this beauty built? What jewel was this case meant to contain? Not the crown of thorns (a relic saved from the fire), but a piece of bread that we believe is the body of Christ.”

Pope Francis, in a message April 16 to Archbishop Aupetit, expressed his solidarity with the sadness of Parisians, calling Notre Dame “an architectural jewel of a collective memory, the gathering place for many major events, the witness of the faith and prayer of Catholics in the city.”

The pope also expressed his confidence that the cathedral would be rebuilt and continue its vocation as “a sign of the faith of those who built it, the mother church of your diocese, (and) the architectural and spiritual heritage of Paris, France and humanity.”

Antoine-Marie Izoard, editor of the French Catholic magazine Famille Chretienne, told CNS, “That this happened at the beginning of Holy Week makes it even more striking and calls us to Christian hope.”

“Last night, Catholics, members of other religions and nonbelievers united around this strong symbol in the heart of Paris,” he said April 16. “It was very striking to see Catholics praying around the cathedral for the firefighters battling the flames.”

Add to that French President Emmanuel Macron’s determination to rebuild, he said, and “we realize once again that the Christian roots of the country are still at the heart of France.”

Italian Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Pontifical Council for Culture, told reporters April 16 that while Notre Dame, like other French cathedrals, is state property, “it remains a living creature in which the liturgy is celebrated, encounters of faith occur and even nonbelievers enter to make a tour of beauty.”

The prayerful, tearful public vigils that took place as the fire burned, he said, demonstrated how “the great cathedrals and basilicas really are living bodies.”

And, the cardinal said, Notre Dame is not just a living sign of religiosity, but is “the heart, the beating heart” of Paris.

Contributing to this story was Carol Glatz at the Vatican.

‘Infinite sadness’ marks the loss of grand Cathedral of Notre Dame
The Notre Dame Cathedral holds its first mass since the April 15 fire.