Notre Dame Cathedral to reopen 5 years after massive blaze

PARIS — Notre Dame Cathedral has been reborn five years after a massive fire destroyed the interior and roof of the landmark.

French President Emmanuel Macron opened the doors to the cathedral to show the transformation of the charred and burnt interior to a clean, bright sanctuary, removing grime that had been coating surfaces for decades.

The Associated Press reported that 42,0000 square meters of stonework were not only cleaned but vacuumed to remove toxic dust that was released when the building’s lead roof melted.

Latex was sprayed into the surface and then removed a few days later to remove dirt from the limestone “pores, nooks and crevices.” A gel was used on painted surfaces to remove centuries of dirt and allow their full colors to shine once again.

“As you walk in, what hits you is just how light and bright it is,” CNN journalist Melissa Bell said. “You realize that before the fire, many centuries of worship and passage and life had meant that it was very dark. There was something really somber when you came inside. That has been completely transformed.”

“It isn’t so much they’ve restored it to its glory of five years ago, but that they’ve restored it to its glory of many centuries ago,” Bell said.

Huge oak beams from 2,000 trees were hewed by hand and used to rebuild the roof and spires.

“It feels like it was built yesterday, like it’s just been born, even though Notre Dame is very old,” stonemason Adrien Willeme told the AP. “Because it’s been so carefully restored and cleaned, it looks really extraordinary.”

Macron told the workers who painstakingly rebuilt the icon and got to tour their finished work, “You did it. And it’s an immense source of pride for the entire nation. I’m infinitely grateful to you, France is infinitely grateful to you,” CNN reported.

Millions of people visited the iconic church every year before the fire erupted on April 15, 2019. It started as restoration work was being performed on the building’s exterior, the BBC reported. Several theories were shared on how it started ranging from cigarettes to an electrical issue. No one was hurt or killed during the 15-hour battle by 600 firefighters to put the flames out.

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After the blaze, only those who were working on the cathedral were permitted to enter.

Estimates to reconstruct Notre Dame were about 700 million euros or $737 million, CNN reported. But a total of 846 million euros or $891 million was collected from donors from all over the world. Money not used on the restoration will be used to “benefit the cathedral, CNN reported.

While not open to the public at this time, on Dec. 7 Macron will hold another event at the cathedral then on Dec. 8, the church’s new altar will be consecrated during Mass.

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