Notre Dame has held its first midnight mass since the fire in 2019

Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris held the first midnight mass on Tuesday night – Christmas Eve – since the cathedral caught fire one night in April 2019.

This is evident from videos released by the cathedral itself.

Before the fire on April 15, 2019, the midnight fair had been held every year since the French Revolution – for over 200 years, Australian ABC writes.

The midnight mass on Tuesday evening this year already began at 11 p.m. with singing from the cathedral’s own choir. It lasted a little over two hours.

Earlier on Tuesday afternoon and evening, three services were also held at 4, 6 and 8 p.m. On Christmas Day, a further service will be held at 8:30 a.m.

In a statement ahead of the Mass, Archbishop of Paris Laurent Ulrich said:

– Last year I spoke to you in our construction site clothes – in our cathedral, which was still under reconstruction.

– Now we are back in Notre Dame, which has just been opened to visitors. Our hearts are having a party! We have come home, he said.

Ahead of the services, the Diocese of Paris said it expected “an extraordinary influx of visitors on December 24 and 25”.

It stated at the same time that it would not be possible to reserve seats for any of the services, writes the French media RFI. A maximum of 2700 people were allowed to enter Notre Dame during each mass.

Notre Dame reopened to the public on 8 December in a consecration ceremony presided over by Laurent Ulrich, attended by 150 bishops and 100 priests from the capital.

The French president, Emmanuel Macron, as well as the newly elected president of the United States, Donald Trump, were also part of the congregation.

Since the cathedral reopened on December 16, around 270,000 people have visited it, according to RFI.

It remains uncertain what caused the fire in 2019. The roof collapsed, but the bell tower and facade withstood the flames.

A renovation was underway when the disaster struck. The authorities believe that the fire may have been started by a short circuit or by a burning cigarette that was thrown.

/ritzau/