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Photos: Notre Dame Cathedral reopens, with its first service since a devastating fire

The choir, clergy and guests stand as they sing during a ceremony to mark the reopening of the landmark Notre Dame Cathedral, in central Paris, on Saturday.
The choir, clergy and guests stand as they sing during a ceremony to mark the reopening of the landmark Notre Dame Cathedral, in central Paris, on Saturday.
Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images

The bells of Notre Dame Cathedral rang on Saturday evening in Paris for the first time since a fire devastated the Paris landmark in 2019.

Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich began the ceremony by knocking three times on the cathedral's door with his staff, called a crozier, which was made from one of the burned beams of the cathedral's roof.

The ceremony to mark the cathedral's return to religious services was attended by French President Emmanuel Macron and hundreds of dignitaries, including U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, first lady Jill Biden, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and the U.K.'s Prince William.

The cathedral's restoration and return to service after five years has been a success for Macron, who has had recent political difficulties.

Firefighters, rescuers and builders involved in the restoration of Notre-Dame Cathedral parade during a ceremony to mark the re-opening of landmark cathedral, in central Paris, on December 7, 2024. Around 50 heads of state and government are expected in the French capital to attend the ceremony marking the rebuilding of the Gothic masterpiece five years after the 2019 fire which ravaged the world heritage landmark and toppled its spire. Some 250 companies and hundreds of experts were part of the five-year restoration project at a cost of hundreds of millions of euros. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Firefighters, rescuers and builders involved in the restoration of Notre Dame Cathedral parade during a ceremony to mark the reopening of the landmark cathedral, in central Paris, on Saturday.
Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images
French President Emmanuel Macron, right, talks with US President-elect Donald Trump in Notre Dame Cathedral as France's iconic cathedral is formally reopening its doors for the first time since a devastating fire nearly destroyed the 861-year-old landmark in 2019, Saturday Dec.7, 2024 in Paris ( Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)
French President Emmanuel Macron, right, talks with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in Notre Dame Cathedral as France's iconic cathedral is formally reopening its doors for the first time since a devastating fire nearly destroyed the landmark in 2019.
Ludovic Marin/AP
Spectators gather outside France's iconic Notre Dame Cathedral Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024 in Paris for it's formal reopening for the first time since a devastating fire nearly destroyed the 861-year-old landmark in 2019.
Spectators gather outside France's iconic Notre Dame Cathedral on Saturday in Paris for its formal reopening.
Alessandra Tarantino/AP
TOPSHOT - This photograph shows part of bas-relief outside of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral in Paris, on November 29, 2024. The Notre-Dame Cathedral is set to re-open early December 2024, with a planned weekend of ceremonies on December 7 and 8, 2024, five years after the 2019 fire which ravaged the world heritage landmark and toppled its spire. Some 250 companies and hundreds of experts were mobilised for the five-year restoration costing hundreds of millions of euros. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Part of bas-relief outside of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, on Nov. 29.
Stephane de Sakutin/AFP via Getty Images
This photograph shows the tabernacle designed by French artist and designer Guillaume Bardet, in the heart of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral in Paris, on November 29, 2024. The Notre-Dame Cathedral is set to re-open early December 2024, with a planned weekend of ceremonies on December 7 and 8, 2024, five years after the 2019 fire which ravaged the world heritage landmark and toppled its spire. Some 250 companies and hundreds of experts were mobilised for the five-year restoration costing hundreds of millions of euros. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION - TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The tabernacle designed by French artist and designer Guillaume Bardet is pictured in Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Nov. 29.
Stephane de Sakutin/AFP via Getty Images
Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo (L), French President Emmanuel Macron (2L) and his wife Brigitte Macron (3R) stand as the Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich (C), walks to the doors of Notre-Dame Cathedral during a ceremony to mark the re-opening of the landmark Cathedral, in central Paris, on December 7, 2024. Around 50 heads of state and government are expected in the French capital to attend the ceremony marking the rebuilding of the Gothic masterpiece five years after the 2019 fire which ravaged the world heritage landmark and toppled its spire. Some 250 companies and hundreds of experts were part of the five-year restoration project at a cost of hundreds of millions of euros. (Photo by Christophe PETIT TESSON / POOL / AFP) (Photo by CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSON/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo (left), French President Emmanuel Macron (second from left) and his wife Brigitte Macron (third from left) stand as the Archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich (center), walks to the doors of Notre Dame Cathedral during a ceremony to mark the reopening on Saturday.
Christophe Petit Tesson/AFP/Getty Images
Customers sit inside a restaurant next to France's iconic Notre Dame Cathedral, hours before formally reopening its doors for the first time since a devastating fire nearly destroyed the 861-year-old landmark in 2019, on Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024, in Paris. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Customers sit inside a restaurant next to France's iconic Notre Dame Cathedral, hours before formally reopening its doors on Saturday.
Bernat Armangue/AP
This photograph shows the inside of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral in Paris, on November 29, 2024. The Notre-Dame Cathedral is set to re-open early December 2024, with a planned weekend of ceremonies on December 7 and 8, 2024, five years after the 2019 fire which ravaged the world heritage landmark and toppled its spire. Some 250 companies and hundreds of experts were mobilised for the five-year restoration costing hundreds of millions of euros. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
This photograph shows the inside of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Nov. 29.
Stephane de Sakutin/AFP via Getty Images
Spectators gather outside France's iconic Notre Dame Cathedral Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024 in Paris for it's formal reopening for the first time since a devastating fire nearly destroyed the 861-year-old landmark in 2019. (AP Photo/Louise Delmotte)
Spectators gather outside France's iconic Notre Dame Cathedral on Saturday in Paris for its formal reopening.
Louise Delmotte/AP
TOPSHOT - Pedestrians pass by the security barriers and fences placed around the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral on the eve ahead of its official reopening after more than five-year of reconstruction work following the April 15, 2019 fire, in Paris, on December 6, 2024. The Notre-Dame Cathedral is set to re-open early December 2024, with a planned weekend of ceremonies on December 7 and 8, 2024, five years after the 2019 fire which ravaged the world heritage landmark and toppled its spire. Some 250 companies and hundreds of experts were mobilised for the five-year restoration costing hundreds of millions of euros. (Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP) (Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA/AFP via Getty Images)
Pedestrians pass by the security barriers and fences placed around the Notre Dame Cathedral on the eve ahead of its official reopening, on Friday.
Julien de Rosa/AFP/Getty Images
(COMBO) This combination of pictures created on November 29, 2024 shows the Western Rose window of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on November 29, 2024 (L) and on November 30, 2012 (R). The Notre-Dame Cathedral is set to re-open early December 2024, with a planned weekend of ceremonies on December 7 and 8, 2024, five years after the 2019 fire which ravaged the world heritage landmark and toppled its spire. Some 250 companies and hundreds of experts were mobilised for the five-year restoration costing hundreds of millions of euros. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN and PATRICK KOVARIK / various sources / AFP) (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTINPATRICK KOVARIK/AFP/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
This combination of pictures shows the Western Rose window of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Nov. 29, 2024 (left) and on Nov. 30, 2012 (right).
Stephane de Sakutin and Patrick Kovarik/AFP/Getty Images
This combination of pictures created on November 29, 2024 shows the nave of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral in Paris on November 29, 2024 (TOP) and on June 28, 2017 (BOTTOM). The Notre-Dame Cathedral is set to re-open early December 2024, with a planned weekend of ceremonies on December 7 and 8, 2024, five years after the 2019 fire which ravaged the world heritage landmark and toppled its spire. Some 250 companies and hundreds of experts were mobilised for the five-year restoration costing hundreds of millions of euros.
This combination of pictures shows the nave of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Nov. 29, 2024 (top) and on June 28, 2017 (bottom).
Sarah Meyssonnier and Martin Bureau/AFP/Getty Images
(COMBO) This combination of pictures created on November 29, 2024 shows rubble and the cross at the altar inside the the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris a month after it sustained major fire, on May 15, 2019 (TOP), and the tabernacle designed by French artist and designer Guillaume Bardet in the heart of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on November 29, 2024. The Notre-Dame Cathedral is set to re-open early December 2024, with a planned weekend of ceremonies on December 7 and 8, 2024, five years after the 2019 fire which ravaged the world heritage landmark and toppled its spire. Some 250 companies and hundreds of experts were mobilised for the five-year restoration costing hundreds of millions of euros. (Photo by Philippe LOPEZ and STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION - TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION (Photo by PHILIPPE LOPEZSTEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
This combination of pictures shows rubble and the cross at the altar inside the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris a month after it sustained major fire, on May 15, 2019 (top), and the tabernacle designed by French artist and designer Guillaume Bardet on Nov. 29, 2024.
Philippe Lopez and Stephane de Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images
This combination of pictures created on November 29, 2024 shows the nave of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral in Paris on November 29, 2024 (R) and on June 28, 2017 (L). The Notre-Dame Cathedral is set to re-open early December 2024, with a planned weekend of ceremonies on December 7 and 8, 2024, five years after the 2019 fire which ravaged the world heritage landmark and toppled its spire. Some 250 companies and hundreds of experts were mobilised for the five-year restoration costing hundreds of millions of euros.
The nave of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on Nov. 29, 2024 (right) and on June 28, 2017 (left).
Martin Bureau and Sarah Meyssonnier/AFP/Getty Images
This combination of pictures created on November 29, 2024 shows the choir stalls of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on June 26, 2018 (TOP) and on November 29, 2024 (BOTTOM). The Notre-Dame Cathedral is set to re-open early December 2024, with a planned weekend of ceremonies on December 7 and 8, 2024, five years after the 2019 fire which ravaged the world heritage landmark and toppled its spire. Some 250 companies and hundreds of experts were mobilised for the five-year restoration costing hundreds of millions of euros. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN and STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / various sources / AFP) (Photo by LUDOVIC MARINSTEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The choir stalls of Notre Dame on June 26, 2018 (top) and on Nov. 29, 2024 (bottom).
Ludovic Marin and Stephane de Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images
This photograph shows the choir stalls of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral in Paris, on November 29, 2024. The Notre-Dame Cathedral is set to re-open early December 2024, with a planned weekend of ceremonies on December 7 and 8, 2024, five years after the 2019 fire which ravaged the world heritage landmark and toppled its spire. Some 250 companies and hundreds of experts were mobilised for the five-year restoration costing hundreds of millions of euros. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The choir stalls of Notre Dame are shown on Nov. 29.
Stephane de Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images
This photograph shows the Crown of thorns inside the reliquary of the Crown of Thorns designed by French Artist Sylvain Dubuisson during a visit of France's President at Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral in Paris, on November 29, 2024. The Notre-Dame Cathedral is set to re-open early December 2024, with a planned weekend of ceremonies on December 7 and 8, 2024, five years after the 2019 fire which ravaged the world heritage landmark and toppled its spire. Some 250 companies and hundreds of experts were mobilised for the five-year restoration costing hundreds of millions of euros. (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY MENTION OF THE ARTIST UPON PUBLICATION - TO ILLUSTRATE THE EVENT AS SPECIFIED IN THE CAPTION (Photo by STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
This photograph shows the Crown of Thorns inside the reliquary of the Crown of Thorns, designed by French Artist Sylvain Dubuisson, on Nov. 29.
Stephane de Sakutin/AFP/Getty Images
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during a visit of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral in Paris, on November 29, 2024. The Notre-Dame Cathedral is set to re-open early December 2024, with a planned weekend of ceremonies on December 7 and 8, 2024, five years after the 2019 fire which ravaged the world heritage landmark and toppled its spire. Some 250 companies and hundreds of experts were mobilised for the five-year restoration costing hundreds of millions of euros. (Photo by Sarah Meyssonnier / POOL / AFP) (Photo by SARAH MEYSSONNIER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech during a visit to Notre Dame on Nov. 29.
Sarah Meyssonnier/AFP/Getty Images
People watch the landmark Notre-Dame Cathedral burning in central Paris on April 15, 2019- A fire broke out at the landmark Notre-Dame Cathedral in central Paris, potentially involving renovation works being carried out at the site, the fire service said. (Photo by Nicolas Liponne/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
People watch the landmark Notre Dame Cathedral burning in central Paris on April 15, 2019.
Nicolas Liponne/NurPhoto via Getty Images

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