PARIS (Reuters) – A crane hoisted a new copper rooster to the top of the brand new spire of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral on Saturday, where work continues before the reopening to worship and the public of the building symbol of Christianity, in a year.
During the fire which ravaged the building on April 15, 2019, the rooster which topped it crashed on the roof at the same time as the spire; he was found in the rubble the next day. It will be exhibited in the future museum of the work of Notre-Dame which will be set up in the Hôtel-Dieu, next to the cathedral.
The new rooster weather vane, made of gilded copper and whose shape is reminiscent of a flame, was blessed on Saturday by the Archbishop of Paris, Mgr Laurent Ulrich, during a ceremony. It contains religious relics as well as a list of names of the workers who participated in the reconstruction of the spire.
“The fire is carried up there but it is a fire of resurrection. It is a phoenix,” declared Philippe Villeneuve, architect of the cathedral.
For Philippe Jost, president of the public establishment responsible for the conservation and restoration of Notre-Dame, “it is a symbol of hope and life because in this rooster, there is all the passion, the knowledge -to make, the investment of hundreds of companions and craftsmen.”
Philippe Jost recently succeeded General Jean-Louis Georgelin, who died accidentally last summer.
During a visit last week to the top of the scaffolding-surrounded spire, French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed that the cathedral would reopen as planned on December 8, 2024. The head of state said the pope’s presence would be welcome to this opportunity.
96 meters high, the spire was not originally part of the cathedral built in the Middle Ages, from the middle of the 12th century. It was added during a restoration carried out in the 19th century under the leadership of the architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc.
Some 500 workers work every day on the construction site of the cathedral, which dominates the Île de la Cité, on the Seine.
In early 2024, workers will begin waterproofing the oak roof with lead. Then the time will come to reinstall the furniture, statues and works of art of the cathedral, as well as the organ, completely dismantled for renovation.
(Report Lucien Libert, with Elizabeth Pineau and Mathieu Rosemain)
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