A first public meditation, three years later.
A few days before Easter, on this Good Friday for Catholics and the anniversary of the terrible fire of Notre-Dame, the Church authorities organized a "time of prayer for peace" in front of the cathedral, open to all.
“We are gossiping in such a special way today.
Of course, thinking that April 15, three years ago, was the day of the tragedy of the fire in our cathedral.
We think especially of those who are victims of the war in Ukraine”, declared Mgr Georges Pontier, apostolic administrator of the diocese of Paris, at the opening of this ceremony.
Hundreds of worshipers and tourists gathered at 12:30 p.m. around the majestic building to celebrate this religious holiday.
For the occasion, the forecourt, which can accommodate between 600 and 1,000 people, began to fill up at 11 a.m.
A large part of the public came to meditate and listen to the prayers pronounced by Mgr Georges Pontier and Mgr Patrick Chauvet, rector archpriest of the cathedral.
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At the foot of the replica of the statue of the Virgin of the Pillar, the ceremony began with texts symbolizing the spirituality of Blessed Charles de Foucauld, canonized in Rome on May 15, interpreted by the singers of the Maîtrise Notre-Dame de Paris.
The emotion is still strong three years later
“I have lived right next door for thirty years, I cried when I saw the fire unfold.
I couldn't even photograph what was happening, I was so shocked,” recalls Elisabeth, who came to attend the ceremony to reflect.
Like many faithful Catholics, Marie-Pierre is also there with her husband to attend this event.
Coming more particularly for the account of the testimony of Charles de Foucauld, she finds it important to see this type of commemoration put in place.
"It's true that the cathedral is unrecognizable now and the most unfortunate part of all this is that we still don't know what caused the fire," she testifies.
Mass for the three years of the fire of Notre-Dame on the forecourt.
Tourists, intrigued by the crowd, also stop.
“I didn't know there was an event planned today, I heard songs from afar so I got closer,” explains Clément, who came from Angers to enjoy the Easter weekend.
Work continues
We all remember the nightmare night of April 15, 2019. While in the midst of restoration work, the cathedral, more than 850 years old, had caught fire, losing its spire, its roof, part of its vault and its clock.
At the time, President Emmanuel Macron had promised the reconstruction of the building on the Ile de la Cité in five years.
The objective today is to return the church to worship at the end of 2024, while the restoration phase started at the end of 2021.
This Friday's mass was followed by a visit from President Emmanuel Macron.
“The opportunity for the Head of State to take stock of the progress of the site and to exchange with the companions and the companies” involved in the renovation, specified the Elysée.
This is Emmanuel Macron's first trip as President of the Republic since the Brussels summit of March 24 and 25, busy with his campaign for re-election.
Investigation still ongoing
Three years later, the drama remains unsolved.
Even today, the investigators of the Criminal Brigade are unable to establish with certainty the cause of the fire but still favor the scenario of recklessness over that of a voluntary act, like the prosecutor of Paris Rémy Heitz who had mentioned in June 2019 the hypothesis of a badly extinguished cigarette butt or an electrical malfunction.