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Key Points
- New spire highlights Notre Dame as a cathedral reborn, after a fire severely damaged the cathedral in 2019.
- The copper rooster is a symbol of France and the return of light after dark.
- President Emmanuel Macron visited the cathedral in December, marking a year before it is open to the public.
Paris’s Notre Dame unveiled a new golden rooster asthe one-time jewel of French Gothic architecture severely damaged in the 2019 fire.
The artifact was blessed by the archbishop of Paris Laurent Ulrich before being lifted into place by a crane, 96 metres high, on top of the cathedral.
The new copper rooster was designed by Philippe Villeneuve, one of the architects leading the restoration of the cathedral and replaces the original too severely damaged by the fire.
Villeneuve said the new rooster’s “wings of fire” were a reminder that “the cathedral can be reborn from the ashes, like a phoenix”.
In the Christian faith, the rooster symbolises the return of light after night-time. It is also one of the symbols of France, found on the strips of the national football and rugby teams, among others.
The new rooster also contains relics saved from the 15 April cathedral fire, and a sealed document with the names of almost 2,000 people who worked on its reconstruction of the cathedral.
When will Notre Dame re-open?
The restoration and rebuilding project has been “an unparalleled human adventure”, said Philippe Jost, president of the Rebuilding Notre Dame de Paris public body.
French President Emmanuel Macron visited the cathedral on 8 December, a year to the day before its planned reopening to the public, to which he intends to invite Pope Francis.
Macron had initially promised to have Notre Dame restored within five years, in time for the Paris Olympics next summer but early setbacks forced a revised deadline.
Restoration efforts have seen key developments this month, inculduing affixing the great cross onto the spire before it is covered in lead.
An innovative fire-fighting system is also planned for the cathedral to prevent future disasters.
What caused the fire?
Four and a half years after the disaster, the cause of the fire is still being investigated.
Restoration of the UNESCO-listed building, which had 12 million visitors a year, has hit several snags since people around the world watched aghast as its steeple crashed down in the blaze.
Since then, more than $1.38 million (848 million euros) has been raised from donations towards its restoration.
The plan is that, once reopened, the cathedral will be able to receive 14 million visitors a year, when it reopens next December.
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