Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai. (Credit : NNA)
Maronite Patriarch Bechara al-Rai will travel to Paris tomorrow, Friday, to participate in a weekend of official ceremonies marking the reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, more than five years after the fire that ravaged it on April 15, 2019.
On Saturday, the head of the Maronite Church will attend the official inauguration of this emblematic monument, at the "personal invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron," according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA). The latter will speak before many heads of state and government, such as President-elect Donald Trump, who has confirmed his attendance. Officials and patrons, jointly invited by the state and the diocese, will also be there, with representatives of all the parishes of Paris, members of the cathedral chapter and the Parisian clergy.
On Sunday, the Maronite Patriarch will participate in a solemn mass presided over by the Archbishop of Paris, celebrating "the spiritual rebirth of this place steeped in history." Nearly 170 bishops from France and around the world will participate in this celebration, as well as a priest from each of the 106 parishes of the Diocese of Paris, and a priest from each of the seven Eastern Rite Catholic churches.