Rector of Notre-Dame Cathedral Olivier Ribadeau Dumas blesses one the eight bells of the north belfry of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral called “Marcel”, central Paris on September 12, 2024. (Photo by ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images)
PARIS – The famed bells of Notre Dame Cathedral will ring again before the end of this year, when the medieval Paris landmark will reopen more than five years after a devastating fire.
The eight restored bells — the heaviest of which weighs more than 4 tons — were brought to the work site surrounding the monument Thursday.
Officials say they’ll be blessed at a special ceremony inside the cathedral before being hoisted to hang in its twin towers for the reopening to the public.
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The bells will be raised one by one and tested out, but they won’t ring in full until the day of the reopening, said Philippe Jost, overseeing the massive Notre Dame reconstruction project. He called the bells’ arrival ‘’a very beautiful symbol of the cathedral’s rebirth.”
When is Notre Dame Cathedral reopening?
Notre Dame Cathedral will reopen to the public on Dec. 8. It’s been closed since April 15, 2019, when a massive fire caused the cathedral’s roof and spire to collapse. The roof and spire have been replaced.
Construction on the cathedral started in the 12th century, but the bronze bells damaged in the fire are from the 21st century. They were built according to historical tradition to replace older bells that had become discordant, to mark the monument’s 850th anniversary.
