Paris’s Notre Dame Cathedral, whose historic bells were silenced following the devastating fire of 2019, will soon resonate again with fresh chimes.
On Thursday, the Gothic landmark welcomed three new bells, including one previously used in the city’s Stade de France stadium during this year’s Paris Olympic Games.
A gift from the Paris 2024 organizing committee, the Olympic bell will be installed above the altar alongside two smaller bells, named Chiara and Carlos. These bells will ring during Mass, officials announced.
Their arrival precedes Notre Dame’s reopening on December 8, marking a significant milestone in the meticulous restoration and modernization of the 861-year-old cathedral, renowned worldwide thanks to Victor Hugo’s “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.”
Olivier Ribadeau Dumas, rector of Notre Dame, expressed heartfelt gratitude during a ceremony celebrating the bells’ arrival.
“What a joy it is,” he remarked. “At the most important moment of the Mass, these bells will ring, just as they did when the victor of a competition celebrated their victory.”
During the Paris 2024 Games, the iconic Olympic bell was rung by each track and field winner. It bears the mark “Paris 2024,” while the two others are adorned with a round symbol combining the image of Notre Dame’s iconic rosary window with a monstrance, a central religious vessel on the cathedral’s altar.
Crafted by the esteemed Cornille Havard foundry in Villedieu-les-Poêles, Normandy, the bells are a testament to France’s distinguished bell-making tradition.
In a solemn moment, Dumas consecrated the bells with holy water and a tree branch. Standing on the square outside the cathedral, he and Tony Estanguet, head of the Paris 2024 organizing committee, symbolically struck the bells with a wooden mallet to mark the occasion.
“What a powerful symbol it is to see this second life given to the Paris 2024 bell, which brought us so many emotions during these Games,” Estanguet said.
The new bells replace three that previously positioned near Notre Dame’s 19th-century spire, which dramatically collapsed during the fire that ravaged the cathedral. The new bells will be placed in a different location within the cathedral, officials noted, where their return will enrich the soundscape of Notre Dame’s daily life.
They join the eight historic bells from the cathedral’s north tower that were reinstalled in September after being cleaned and renovated. These bells—Gabriel, Anne-Geneviève, Denis, Marcel, Étienne, Benoît-Joseph, Maurice, and Jean-Marie—were originally cast in 2013 for Notre Dame’s 850th anniversary.
The cathedral’s two larger bells, housed in the south tower, remain intact and were unaffected by the blaze, officials added.
The reconstruction of Notre Dame has engaged over 250 companies and hundreds of skilled craftsmen. The Olympic bell isn’t the only symbol of old meeting new in Notre Dame’s evolving restoration.
Perched atop the newly designed spire, a golden rooster, reimagined by chief architect Philippe Villeneuve, symbolizes the blend of the cathedral’s ancient spirit with a modern touch. The weathervane, resembling a phoenix with flames licking its wings, stands as a testament to hope and revival.
