Newspaper: Pope could travel to Paris for the opening of Notre-Dame

Pope Francis could travel to the reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on 8 December. The head of the Church has shown interest in travelling to Paris, the Italian newspaper "Il Messaggero" reported on Tuesday. It was referring to the French journalist Caroline Pigozzi, who had asked the Pope on the outward flight of his trip to Asia whether he would visit Notre-Dame for the opening after the five years of renovation work. "We are working on it," Francis replied, giving her a thumbs-up, according to Pigozzi.

However, the newspaper made it clear that a papal visit to Paris would clash with another date that is firmly on the Church leader's calendar. Since Pope Pius XII in 1953, each of his successors has honoured the Marian column in Piazza Mignanelli in Rome near the Spanish Steps with a visit and the laying of flowers on 8 December, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. In an article in the French newspaper "La Tribune" at the weekend, Pigozzi suggested that Francis travel to the reopening and altar consecration of Notre-Dame on the morning of 8 December and visit the Marian column there after returning to Rome in the afternoon. The Vatican has not yet commented on a possible trip by the Pope to the French capital. Francis has not yet made an official state visit to France, but in 2014 he visited the European Parliament and the Council of Europe in Strasbourg and last year a pastoral trip took him to Marseille.

Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris has been closed to the public since the fire on 15 April 2019. Renovation work has been taking place on the church, which will reopen on 8 December, for more than five years. The day before, the doors of Notre-Dame will be ceremonially opened, followed by the blessing of the organ, which had to be completely dismantled, cleaned and reassembled. The event concludes with a Te Deum and the Magnificat. Before 2019, 12 to 14 million people visited Notre-Dame every year. This makes the cathedral more popular than another Paris landmark: a good 6.3 million people visited the Eiffel Tower in 2023. (rom)