The coq, an emblematic element of Notre-Dame, is set to return to its place in the Parisian sky on Saturday afternoon, marking a major milestone less than a year before the cathedral’s planned reopening.
The previous rooster was too damaged during the 2019 fire that ravaged the monument, prompting the construction of a new one designed by the chief architect of historic monuments, Philippe Villeneuve. The new coq will be blessed on the ground by the Archbishop of Paris, Monseigneur Laurent Ulrich, before being craned to the top of the spire, 96 meters above the ground.
It will contain relics saved from the fire, precious to Catholics. These include a fragment of the Crown of Thorns of Christ, the bones of Saint-Denys, the first bishop of Paris in the 3rd century, and the bones of Sainte-Geneviève, the patron saint of the city of Paris who died around the year 500. Another sealed tube will be placed in the coq, containing the names of nearly 2,000 people involved in the reconstruction.
On December 8, President Emmanuel Macron visited the construction site, exactly one year before the planned reopening of the cathedral, to which he intends to invite Pope Francis. He also announced that the old rooster would be placed in a “museum of the works of Notre-Dame de Paris,” which will be housed in the Hotel-Dieu building near the Île de la Cité.
A spectacular fire on April 15, 2019, ravaged the cathedral, causing its 19th-century spire designed by architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc to collapse, eliciting global emotion. The new spire, still surrounded by scaffolding, has reappeared in the Parisian sky and has been topped with its cross since December 6.
Philippe Jost, the head of the reconstruction effort who succeeded General Jean-Louis Georgelin after his sudden death, stated that once the spire reaches its 96 meters, the next step will be to cover it in lead so the scaffolding, which currently obscures much of the spire, can be removed.
