Trump among leaders at reopening of Notre Dame as France faces crisis

The restored Gothic spire of Notre Dame is to provide a dramatic backdrop for Donald Trump's return to the geopolitical stage this weekend, as the president-elect makes his first visit to Europe since the US election to mingle with world leaders at an official reopening ceremony in Paris today.

- Philip Oltermann

The medieval cathedral, which was ravaged by a fire in April 2019, has been reconstructed in a painstaking, €700m (£580m) effort that took five years, involved carpentry methods dating to the 13th century and drew donations from 150 countries.

Festivities will stretch over two days, starting with an address by President Emmanuel Macron on the limestone forecourt followed by a liturgical ceremony inside the cathedral. The archbishop of Paris, Laurent Ulrich, will strike the 850-year-old edifice's heavy door with his crosier, accompanied by the singing of psalm 121 ("I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills") to symbolise the reawakening.

The service will continue with the "awakening of the great organ", which has not been heard since the fire, a solemn blessing and the singing of the Te Deum.

Tomorrow, when Catholics celebrate the feast of the immaculate conception, the archbishop will hold an inaugural mass that Notre Dame's rector said would be attended by "the poorest among Parisians". The new main altar will be consecrated in a special ritual and the relics of five saints, including St Catherine Labouré and St Charles de Foucauld, will be sealed into the altar.