Five and a half years ago, the world watched as Notre-Dame burned. Two days later, Emmanuel Macron, president of France, promised that the Cathedral would reopen in time for the 2024 Olympics. Many doubted him.

Last weekend, as Macron stood in front of Notre-Dame welcoming world leaders for a special service of thanksgiving, I’m sure he was feeling pretty pleased with himself. The Paris Olympics may have come and gone, but his prediction was only six months off.

Which is incredible, considering how much has happened in our world since 2019.

Last weekend’s special services got a lot of media coverage, but what impressed me was how Notre-Dame held what it called an Octave of Reopening, which concluded today, eight days after Macron welcomed the world to Notre-Dame. Every day this week, a special mass was celebrated.

The first was last Sunday for heads of state and invited dignitaries. On Monday, the priests and deacons of the Diocese of Paris were welcomed. Member of religious orders were invited to Tuesday’s mass. Patrons and donors of the Cathedral were invited to the mass celebrated on Wednesday, charitable associations on Thursday, employees and volunteers of the Diocesan House on Friday, and schoolchildren on Saturday. Today, the final day of the Octave of Reopening, a mass was held for the Parisian firefighters, artisans, and all those who worked on the reopening of the Cathedral.

Going forward, visiting Notre-Dame will remain free of charge (as it always has been per French government policy), but a ticketing system will be put in place. This is because capacity will be limited to half of what it was before the fire as the restoration work continues. It won’t be completed until 2026.

As I read about the opening of Notre-Dame last weekend, I was stunned by the photos of the Cathedral’s interior. It’s unrecognizable to me. By way of comparison, here is a photo I took of the Blue Rose window in January 2011, the last time I was inside Notre-Dame. The walls were covered in soot, and seemed weighed down by years of history. Now, those same walls are luminous and full of life.

At my office Christmas party this past week, a co-worker mentioned that her daughter wanted to spend Christmas in Paris, but they decided not to because she wasn’t keen on spending the holidays in a hotel.

“Well,” I said. “I’ve spent Christmas in Paris and I highly recommend it.”

Because it was Christmas Eve and we were in Paris, it seemed inevitable that we would make our way to Notre-Dame. We were able to walk right in, but the crowds inside, and the fact that none of us would understand a mass said in French, made us leave. Here is the grainy photo I took while we stood at the back trying to make up our minds whether to stay or go.

Notre-Dame will hold Christmas services this year for the first time since 2019. Prior to the fire, it had not missed a Christmas mass since the French Revolution, when the Cathedral was converted to a wine warehouse and renamed Temple of Reason.

I don’t regret that we skipped the Christmas Eve mass at Notre-Dame; it was the right decision for us at the time. But I do hope one day I will again experience the magic of Christmas in Paris, and that maybe, with better planning, I will witness a Christmas Eve mass at Notre-Dame.