No Christmas Mass At Notre Dame Cathedral Paris

Renovation of the Notre-Dame Cathedral, France (Instagram @ franch24)

JAKARTA - For the first time the Notre Dame Church in Paris, France will not hold Christmas Mass services since 1803. This is because the historic and iconic cathedral is still undergoing renovations after a fire eight months ago.

As quoted from the New York Times, Public Relations of Notre Dame Cathedral said the Christmas Eve Mass will still be held, but not in Notre-Dame, but at Saint-Germain l'Auxerrois which is the closest church to Notre Dame Cathedral.

This is the first moment for this gothic architectural style church, not holding mass on Christmas Eve. For 200 years the Church of Notre Dame has remained open even though history continues to experience turmoil, one of which was during the occupation of Nazi Germany during World War II.

The fire that hit Notre Dame Church, eight months ago, damaged the tower, roof and many valuable artifacts. French President Emmanuel Macron laid out a five-year plan to repair the eight-century structure of the building.

Prosecutors in Paris suspect negligence in causing the fire at Notre Dame Cathedral. They opened an investigation in June, then suspected two causes of the fire, namely cigarette butts and faulty electrical installations.

As a follow-up, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe then announced an international architectural competition. Where the competition is expected to be able to reconstruct and redesign the church that was built since the Middle Ages.

France opens up opportunities for world architects to submit building design proposals to replace the collapsed cathedral tower. The French Ministry of Culture has even prepared a fund of 1 billion euros for the repair of Notre-Dame.