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CultureFrance

Notre Dame gets new golden rooster in pivotal moment

December 17, 2023

The fitting of the golden rooster — this one with wings of fire like a phoenix — on the spire of Notre Dame marks a pivotal moment in the restoration of the UNESCO-listed building that burned to ashes in 2019.

https://p.dw.com/p/4aG30
The replica of the golden rooster is craned up to the top of the Notre Dame cathedral spire as part of restoration works
The golden rooster with the wings of fire is symbolic of the phoenix — a mythical bird which rises from its own ashesImage: Michel Euler/AP/picture alliance

Paris' Notre Dame Cathedral got a new golden rooster on Saturday, marking an important moment in the restoration of the famed landmark, which saw the destruction of its roof and other damage in a massive fire in 2019.

Laurent Ulrich, the archbishop of Paris, blessed the rooster with golden flame-like wings before it was lifted into place on the 96-meter-high (315-foot-high) cathedral spire.

The new rooster's "wings of fire" were a reminder that "the cathedral can be reborn for the ashes, like a phoenix," said Philippe Villeneuve, one of the lead architects working at the cathedral and the designer of the new rooster.

The figure is said to contain a fragment of Christ's crown of thorns, remains of St. Denis and St. Genevieve and a list of the 2,000 people working on Notre Dame's reconstruction.

Paris Archbishop Laurent Ulrich places the relics of a fragment of Christ's crown of thorns and remains of St. Denis and St. Genevieve into the replica of the golden rooster before being craned up to the top of the spire as part of restoration works of Notre Dame Cathedral
The new rooster contains relics and a list of the 2,000 people working on the cathedral's reconstructionImage: Michel Euler/AP/picture alliance

Villeneuve said the old rooster, while too damaged to reuse, was saved from the 2019 fire, giving the community hope.

"That there was hope, that not everything was lost. The beauty of the [old] battered rooster [...] expressed the cry of the cathedral suffering in flames," he said.

"Since [the fire], we have worked on this rooster successor, which sees the flame carried to the top of the cathedral as it was before, more than 96 meters from the ground," he said. "It is a fire of resurrection."

The rooster marks the return of the day and is also a commonly used symbol in France, especially as a mark of Christ's resurrection.

When will reconstruction be completed?

French President Emmanuel Macron plans to reopen the cathedral in December 2024. He intends to invite Pope Francis to the event.

Macron had initially pledged to have Notre Dame restored within five years, in time for the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, setbacks in construction called for a new deadline. 

Over €848 million ($925 million) has been raised in donations for the landmark's redo. More than four years after April 15, 2019 — the night Paris and the rest of the world watched Notre Dame crash into flames — the cause of the fire is still being investigated.

mk/sms (AFP, AP)