Notre Dame Cathedral stands as one of Paris’s most iconic symbols, and its revival is underway three years after the blaze that damaged its roof and altered the silhouette of a cherished Gothic landmark. The restoration is moving forward on schedule, and worship will resume as planned in the coming months.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, is set to visit the site this Friday, marking his first official act after a period of intense campaigning. His pledge three years ago to rebuild the cathedral within five years has guided the project, though officials acknowledge the goal remains ambitious. It is uncertain whether the site will welcome the same 13 million visitors it drew before the fire, but the work is clearly progressing with strong momentum.
At present, the daily worship schedule abroad continues, while throngs of visitors still gather on the square to glimpse the cathedral’s most recognizable facade, a spectacle that draws photographers from around the world.
Restoration at a good pace
Work is advancing briskly as teams consolidate the structure and gradually restore the cathedral to its former form. Crews diligently remove damaged material, secure the building, and place a temporary roof to shield the interior until the new roof is ready.
In addition, the walls have been cleaned of lead residue from the fire and the effects of time, helping them appear cleaner as scaffolding is taken down in the final stages of renovation.
Next year will bring the most ambitious phase of reconstruction, including the reconstruction of the cathedral’s spire, echoing the design of the 19th-century work by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc. This phase will require the establishment of a new organizational structure by year-end and the installation of a 600-ton support pier to anchor the new coffered ceiling.
Approximately 1,000 centuries-old oak trees are being prepared from across the country to form the new timber framework, with sawmills processing the timber into essential components for the restoration.
Inside the cathedral, restoration continues in 24 chapels. The ailing organ has already undergone restoration in several workshops across central and southern France and is being restored to its pre-fire condition to resume service.
Surprises
Alongside careful cleaning, an archaeological program has revealed surprising finds about the temple’s past.
The excavations, initially planned for three weeks, extended into two months and uncovered two significant discoveries. First, an anthropomorphic lead sarcophagus was found about 80 centimeters beneath the nave floor, believed to belong to a high religious figure.
Second, among the rubble lay remnants of the transept with a needle-holder from an older altar dating to the 13th century, altered long ago to meet evolving ceremonial needs. The discovery underscores the cathedral’s layered history and richness beyond its current silhouette.
The site’s wealth lies in its living record of color, artistry, and faith, a dynamic that surpasses even the medieval fragments preserved in museums, offering sharpened insight into the temple’s original grandeur.
Together with archaeologists, workers, and experts, scaffolding forms a maze around the nave as researchers seek to understand the disaster’s origins and the remaining vulnerabilities of the structure.
Investigations continue to weigh various scenarios for the blaze. The leading hypothesis remains an accidental fire connected to ongoing restoration work in 2019, but other potential causes, including human involvement, are not completely ruled out.
Evidence points to flames taking hold in the beams of the southeast transept, highlighting structural weaknesses and issues with the firefighting system that delayed alarms and slowed response times.