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Pope Leo XIV Prays at Rebuilt Notre-Dame Cathedral
Confirmed
In Short: Pope Leo XIV held evening vespers at the recently reopened Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, marking his first visit since its 2019 fire.
Pope Leo XIV held evening vespers at the recently reopened Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on Friday, marking his first visit since the devastating fire in 2019. The service was a symbolic moment for the Catholic Church and the city of Paris.
In his remarks, Pope Leo emphasized the cathedral's significance as a place where 'heaven and earth meet,' highlighting its role as a spiritual and cultural center for France.
The pope noted that the collective effort to rebuild Notre-Dame has reawakened the cultural, existential, and spiritual journeys that the cathedral represents. He praised the contributions of public, private, and ecclesial institutions involved in the restoration.
An estimated 300,000 people lined the streets to greet Pope Leo as he made his way from UNESCO headquarters to the cathedral, underscoring the cathedral's enduring importance to the French people.
Pope Leo addressed the Catholic clergy and religious, urging them to embrace a 'new impetus towards holiness and daily mission' as the cathedral itself has been reborn.
The cathedral reopened in December 2024, just over five years after the fire that damaged its roof, nave, and spire. The restoration efforts have been a source of national pride and international interest.
The cruciform layout of the cathedral, where stone and light come together, symbolizes the meeting of earth and heaven, gathering and ordering the events of history into a cohesive narrative.
Pope Leo's visit to Notre-Dame comes at a critical juncture for the Catholic Church in France, as it welcomes rising numbers of converts and faces ongoing challenges related to clergy sexual abuse.
Background
Pope Leo XIV will meet with seven French survivors of clergy sexual abuse during his visit to Lourdes, as critics demand further action.
Pope Leo XIV prayed for Somalia on Sunday, September 20, 2026, during the Angelus in St. Peter’s Square, urging international solidarity amid the country's deepening humanitarian crisis.
What's confirmed
- We are gathered for Evening Prayer in this place which, more than any other, has invited the people of Paris for centuries to lift their eyes towards heaven.
- Seven years have passed since the whole world, holding its breath, watched as the cathedral was engulfed in a terrible fire.
- Indeed, in that tragic moment we came to realize that Notre-Dame is more than a monument.
- The collective effort to rebuild it, and the splendour of the result reveal that the heart of a people beats here, and that here we stand at the living center of a civilization, where past and future embrace, where heaven and earth meet.
What's still developing
- Local authorities estimated that 300,000 people lined up to greet Leo outside Notre-Dame and along the two-and-a-half mile road from his previous event at UNESCO headquarters to the cathedral, the Vatican said.