Notre Dame misses Christmas Eve mass for first time in 200 years

For the first time in 200 years, Notre Dame Cathedral was unable to hold Christmas Eve Mass. The iconic Cathedral in Paris was ravaged by fire on April 15, 2019, and since then it has been undergoing massive renovations. French Catholics with heavy hearts gathered at the nearby church of Saint Germain I'Auxerrois, where rector Patrick Chauvet celebrated the service. 

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Notre-Dame misses X-mas mass for the first time

One of the attendees of the Christmas Eve mass at Saint Germain I'Auxerrois church said that she is missing the Notre-Dame as the feeling anywhere else is not the same, obviously, there will be a thought for the burnt cathedral. The 16-year-old Juliette made it to this year's mass with her family after taking a 700 kilometres journey from Aix. Another visitor who attended the mass on December 24 was Danielle, who said that she had been crying since April 15 and yesterday even more. However, she was lifted by the choir of Notre-Dame, who performed at the mass. 

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After the UNESCO recognised site was ravaged by fire, French President Emmanuel Macron set a deadline of five years to completely repair the 12th-century structure. Around one billion euros have been raised for the reconstruction of the cathedral, France's Culture Ministry said. 

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Paris prosecutor said that the cause of the fire is still unknown, however, a cigarette butt or a faulty electrical wire may have been the reason behind the ravaging fire. Cathedral employees are being blamed for the fire as they didn't take the smoke signal seriously and delayed the investigation. The fire started at around 6:18 pm while the fire brigade was summoned at around 6:50 pm. The fire brigade took 10 minutes to reach the site and almost 2 hours to bring the fire under control.  

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