“Notre-Dame allows men to find themselves”

You announce to us a reopening of Notre-Dame over… six months! Isn’t that a bit excessive?

Mgr Laurent Ulrich: So many people are waiting for the reopening and I don’t want to forget anyone… And then it is in the Catholic tradition to propose an octave for the holidays. That is to say that the same day continues for a whole week. For Notre-Dame, I propose that we celebrate this event with six months of praise, so that it truly is a great shared popular moment.

What inspired this idea?

Thirty years ago, I read an article by Madeleine Delbrêl which really struck me at the time. She regretted that in 1949, during the funeral of Cardinal Emmanuel Suhard, Archbishop of Paris, ordinary Parisians were confined to the square while the officials entered Notre-Dame. When I was appointed two and a half years ago, this text came back to my memory: a cathedral is first and foremost the house of God and the people of the diocese!

And, beyond that, that of all these “living stones” – according to the expression of the 1970s – that the faithful come from everywhere represent. As the building is not huge, a single ceremony will not be enough. But I want everyone who will go there until mid-June, for one or other of the events that we have planned, to be able to say: “I was there during the reopening of Notre-Dame “.

Notre-Dame also has a lot of meaning for non-Catholics…

This church is the cathedral of the city of Paris. Historical events of national and global significance have taken place here for almost a thousand years. For example, a Magnificat for the Liberation of Paris was celebrated there on August 26, 1944 in the presence of General de Gaulle, then a Te Deum for the victory of the Allies on May 9, 1945. This is no small thing. It is also the geographic zero point from which all the roads in our country start. And, since the fire, we realize that it is anchored in the hearts of the whole world. Everywhere I travel, when people learn who I am, this is the first question they ask me: “How is Notre-Dame?”

Isn’t it a little disconcerting for you to not have had a cathedral for over two years?

I am not a unique case: certain bishops saw their cathedral bombed, then under constant repair, long after the war. And then, I entered the building several times during the work. Moreover, I wanted to pray there from the first day of my canonical possession of the archbishop’s seat, after the vespers celebrated on the square.

What personal and spiritual reading do you make of this rebirth?

Entering the house of the Father of us all fills me with hope. This project is incredible since it achieved this incredible feat of lasting only five short years and returning the cathedral to worship. When I took charge in Paris, I immediately felt that this challenge could be met as there was so much positive energy and mobilization of all those involved, striving towards this goal.

You also spoke of “aspiration for unity”: is this the symbolic force of this cathedral?

The aspiration to unity is a way of expressing that the gift of God – the Resurrection, the salvation, the holiness which He confers on us – will be realized in the unity of the people of believers and of all others. The Savior reconciles us all in God. This is the strength of faith: to become, in God, a single human family. He never ceases to call us to this union of hearts, to love, to forgive. This is very difficult to achieve in our human lives, of course, but this aspiration runs through all of us. After this moment of shared universal joy, experienced during the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the summer of 2024, I know that it is possible to move towards this unity, in the diversity of our beings, our cultures and our beliefs.

You have launched several competitions to renew liturgical furniture. Are you sensitive to contemporary creation?

I am sensitive to artistic creation from all eras. When I see the triumph of architectural balance that the inventors of the Gothic style achieved and which flourishes at Notre-Dame, I am amazed! It is a true dwelling for God, where the smallest detail has been taken care of for His glory, even when it concerns a sculpture located very high up or a corner of stained glass window invisible to ordinary mortals. To continue today this quest for harmony and unity, I wanted to order from a single artist, Guillaume Bardet, the five pieces of new liturgical furniture – the old one having been destroyed by the fire. Thus, the baptistery, which the visitor will first see, at the entrance to the cathedral, dialogues with the altar, which itself resonates with the tabernacle, at the back of the choir, under the large contemporary cross designed by Marc Couturier . It is framed by two other creations, the cathedra and the ambo. I asked that the latter change its place and be installed on the south side of the altar, so that it would be close to the Virgin of the pillar: because it is at the ambo that the Gospels are read, and Mary is the first listener of the Word.

Is beauty a way to unite the whole world?

For us Catholics, beauty comes from God. And He gives us the grace to create beauty, to build beautiful churches where we come together to praise Him and meet others in their diversity. Our world thirsts for unity, the beauty of Notre-Dame allows men, in their plurality, to find each other.