Notre Dame Cathedral unveils its new interior 5 years after devastating fire

PARIS (AP) — After more than five years of frenetic reconstruction work, Notre Dame Cathedral showed its new self to the world Friday, with rebuilt soaring ceilings and creamy good-as-new stonework erasing somber memories of its devastating fire in 2019.

Images broadcast live of a site visit by French President Emmanuel Macron showed the inside of the iconic cathedral as worshippers might have experienced it back in medieval times, its wide, open spaces filled with bright light on a crisp and sunny winter’s day that lit up the vibrant colors of the stained-glass windows.

Gaping holes that the blaze tore into the vaulted ceilings, leaving charred piles of debris, are gone, now filled in with new stonework. Delicate golden angels look on from the centerpiece of one of the rebuilt ceilings.

The cathedral’s limestone walls look brand new, cleaned not only of dust from the fire but also of grime that had accumulated for years. The cathedral attracted millions of worshippers and visitors annually before the blaze.

Powerful vacuum cleaners were used to first remove toxic dust released when the fire melted the cathedral’s lead roofs. Fine layers of latex were then sprayed onto the surfaces and removed a few days later, taking dirt away with them.

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Macron entered via the cathedral’s giant and intricately carved front doors and stared up at the ceilings in wonder. He was accompanied by his wife, Brigitte, the archbishop of Paris and others.

Their visit kicks off a series of events ushering in the reopening of the 12th-century Gothic masterpiece.

Macron will return on Dec. 7 to deliver an address and attend the consecration of the new altar during a solemn Mass the following day.

Macron’s administration is hailing the reconstruction as a symbol of national unity and French can-do.