Bishop’s three knocks signify reopening of Notre Dame five years after blaze

Howling winds could not stop Notre Dame’s heart from beating again. With three resounding knocks on its doors by Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich, wielding a staff carved from fire-scorched beams, the cathedral roared back to life on Saturday evening.

For the first time since a devastating 2019 blaze, the towering Gothic masterpiece reopened for worship, its rebirth marked by song, prayer, and awe beneath its soaring arches.

While the ceremony was initially planned to begin on the forecourt, unusually fierce December winds whipping across the central Paris island, flanked by the River Seine, forced all events inside.

Yet the occasion lost none of its splendour. Inside the luminous nave, choirs are singing psalms, and the cathedral’s mighty organ, silent for nearly five years, is thundering to life in a triumphant interplay of melodies.

The evening’s celebration, being attended by 1,500 dignitaries, including President-elect Donald Trump, US First Lady Jill Biden, Britain’s Prince William, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, underscores Notre Dame’s enduring role as both a spiritual and cultural beacon.

For President Emmanuel Macron, who championed the ambitious five-year restoration timeline, it was a rare moment of unity amid profound political crises and threats to his presidential legacy.