Worshippers in hard-hats gather for first Notre-Dame mass since devastating fire
Issued on: Modified:
Notre-Dame de Paris held its first mass Saturday after a fire ravaged the cathedral on April 15. Exactly two months after the blaze engulfed the landmark Gothic building in the French capital, the service was celebrated by Paris Archbishop Michel Aupetit in a chapel behind the choir, a place confirmed by construction experts as safe. For security reasons, only about 30 people, mainly priests and church employees, were able to attend. The archbishop and congregants wore hard-hat helmets. Other worshippers could watch the Mass live on a Catholic TV station. The video showed some burnt wood still in the church but a famous statue of the Virgin and Child appeared intact behind wooden construction planks. It is still unclear when the cathedral will reopen to the public.